New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-10-10
Rice Was the Agaressor.

RIce was the Agqressor.
The information in the hands Of the
detectives shows conclusively. IL was
stated, that Mr.. Rice was the aggressor
in the assault which resulted in his
death. According to Mr. Di Maio. the
lawyer left the Euclid Club about 1880
o. m and was near his home when he
met some Italians who haG a large car
pet bag in their possession. Mr.. Rice in
tercepted them and demanded to know
what they had in the bag, evidently be
Iieving that they had robbed his own
house, near by.
He was a man of athletic build and
had a reputation for fearlessness. and,
according to the detectives story, he
grappled with the Italian who carried
the bag and was getting the best Of him.
when one of the other Italians drew
revolver and shot him, the bullet enter
ing his skull over the right eye and kill
ing him instantly. Mr.. Rice had several
deep gashes on his wrist and his coat
sleeve was cleanly cut as if by some ex-
tremely sharp knife. A stiletto found
later by the detectives in an Italian
of the suspected gang had lived, is
thought to be the one used on Mr.. Rice.
The carpetbag was afterward found in
the street near the place where Rice's
body was discovered, and contained sew
eraI freshly killed chickens which the
Italians had stolen from the yard OF Mr..
Palmer, whose home adjoins the Rice
place. The detectives believe the Ital-
ians had started out to steal chickens
in that neighborhood in preparation for
the feast of San Giuseppe, which was to
be celebrated two days later in the ItaI-
ian settlement. The bag offered a cIew
by which the detectives ran down To-
massello.
Revolver Found on Tomassello.
1t had certain peculiarities in the trade
mark and other markings which made
it easy for the detectives to find the
dealer who sold it, and through him to
trace il TO tie man to whom it was sold.
This man lived in the italian boarding
house where other members of the gang
lived who owned bags of this same pc
culiar make. The detectives intimated
a
volver of the same calfbre and loaded
with soft lead bullets, such as were
found in Rice's body, was taken from
Tomassello when he, was arrested, Mr..
Di Maio said
Mr.. Di Maio said that there were wit
nesses accessible who had seen the ItaI-
ians before they attacked Mr.. Rice, and
af n
would be able to identify the men when
the proper time came. He also stated
that one of the gang had told the story
of the murder to a man who afterward
took the information to the Pinkerton
agency. He would be a witness against
the murderers when they were brought
to trial, il was said. The story which
was told this witness corroborated the
circumstances as previously disclosed by
the investigation. Mr.. Di Maio said.
The Pinkertons were not called into
the case until several days after the
murder Il happened that when Di Maio
started the investigation in Cleveland
some of his men were investigating an
assault and robbery at the residence Of
Mrs. Anna Padova. who kept an Italian |
boarding house in the italian settlement |
Several Italians entered her place on /
August 10. five days after the Rice muir |
der. bound and maltreated her. ran /
sacked the house and made away with
several hundred dollars which one OF her /
boarders had secreted in his room
identified by a Woman.
Circumstances which developed later
convinced the detectives that the same !
gang which had robbed Mrs. Padova had 1
been implicated in the Rice murder. /
When Tomassello was arrested in Brook /
lyn Mrs. Padova. who had been brought 1
on from Cleveland. identified him as one /
Of the men who had attacked her She
said he then wore a broad mourning
band on his coat sleeve. Tomassello Is
under arrest for the Padova robbery
charge
Mr.. Di Maio said Tomassello was
known to wear a mourning band since
he appeared in Cleveland's Little Italy"
about a year ago. and that the mourning
band was likely TO play part in liking