El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-03-11
FORTY-ONE MEMBERS Of CAMORRA
Ire ON TRIAL IN ITALIAN COURT


+ Enrico Alfano better known as Erri-
cone, alleged actual head Of the Ca
mora after the latter had fled to New
York city.
! Enormous crowds gathered in the
vicinity of the court this morning and
! the van, containing the prisoners,
was heavily guarded as it proceeded
1 AMID angry shouts.
The trial marks the most determined
I effort Italy has ever made toward re-
moving a society whose depredations,
criminal and political have for gem
erations, spilled the blood and threat
ened the peace of her citizens. For
years the Camorra, or Black Hand so
ciety, as it is better known in this
country, has been a recognized scourge
to the Italian government and to
wealthy Italian citizens; yet so strong
is the fraternal sympathy among its
members and so swift and awful the
revenge that has overtaken all who
NEEDLE with its affairs, that it has
set at naught all attempts to bring it
to justice.
The Specific Crime.
The crime for which these men are
being tried was perpetrated nearly five
years ago. and the story of those pa
tient years Of investigation, fraught
at every step with death and hampered
by every vile known to the Black
Handlers, is one that rivals the his
tory of daring and diplomacy that led
to the disarmament of the Molly Ma
gllires, that famous band that so long
terrorized the Pennsylvania mining
district.
Was Beauty of Under World.
For years senorita La Sorrentina
was the reigning beauty of the I'M
derworld of Naples. Her exploits and
amours were known far and wide, and
it was often whispered that persons
of high repute looked with favorable
eyes upon the beautiful Italian. On
the night of June 5th, 1906, her house,
which was situated in the central por-
ton of the city, near one Of its busiest
thoroughfares, was entered and she
was slain while asleep. When the
crime was discovered it aroused
then entire country. Suspicion CEN
tered on her husband, sIgnor Cue
colo, who was strangely absent at the
time, and posses of italian police
sought him everywhere. Hardly had
these emissaries Of justice started in
their search, when the body of the
supposed murderer was discovered by
a peasant, hidden in some bushes that
fringed lonely road not far from
Naples
authorities face to face with a muir
der, mysterious, ruthless and delib-
crate. The populace were clamoring
for action. Day after day passed with
out the shadow of clue that would
lead to the perpetrators of the crime,
and itAwas at last agreed upon by the
authorities to lay the matter at the
door of the society whose history.
whether true or false, was studded
with such crimes, and an official an
nouncement was made that suspicion
led to the Camorra.
Suspects Released.
To strengthen the charge, an arrest
was made of several members of the
society, including its alleged leader,
signor Erricono. The populace. how
ever. refused to accept this action as
a bonahde attempt to clear up the
mystery. and as the days went by. and
no shred of evidence appeared against
the accused man, the clamor for an
arrest gave way to an equally strong
public demand that the accused be
released After so days of incarcera-
ton, the accused terrorists were al
lowed to go free. and in a short time
the murder Of the beautiful La Sor-
rentina and her husband had passed
into history.
Though Erricono and his companions
were free to pursue their way unmo-
Tested and two murders has apparent
" Joined that long list Of undetected
Italian crimes, secret forces were at
work to uncover the mystery. The
authorities at Rome became interested.
It was found that the murder at Ma
pies bore many points of similarity to
other crimes that had been perpe-
trated in the past. An investigation
was quietly started and soon enough
evidence was uncovered to warrant
the suspicion that some organized
band of criminals was implicated and
sergeant of the Carabunieri, signor
Capezutto, was chosen to run the muir
derers to earth.
Joins the CamOrra.
Quietly and with the utmost eau
ton, Capezutto set about his task. The
trail led to the Camorra Capezutto
joined that body and was taken into
favor by its leaders. Bit by bit he
picked up threads of evidence. He
learned that a man named Abatte-
maggie, formerly high up in the
counsels Of the Camorrists, had been
expelled by that society, and was sup
posed to be familiar with the murder
of Cuccolo and his wife. Abattemeg
gio was in jail and there the detec-
tive joined him. Gradually he wormed
:
fellow prisoner and dragged from him
the. history Of the crime.
Cuccolo and his beautiful wife, he
learned were in close association with
the Camorra and would through their
doubtful social standing with men of !
wealth learn the location of treasure
worthy of the band of criminals whom
they served. The mysterious arrival of
the police, however, while the Black
Handlers were engaged in their rob-
berries led them to believe that the
Cuccolos were playing a double game
and were acting as the spies OF the
police. A Camorra tribunal was called.
with Erricono at its head and it was
decided that Cuccolo and his wife must
die six of the most resolute ruffians
being delegated to execute this SEN
tence. Their plan was to murder Cue
colo on lonely road near Naples. steal
his keys and after gaining entrance to /
his house in Naples, slay his wife as
she SLEPT