The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-07-31
Hunt Assassins of Varella,
Betrayer of Dago Frank
Who Was Killed in His
Cafe Yesterday.
ROSE is WRITING
A FULL CONFESSION
The Graft System, He Says,
Melted the Police 81, 10000
a Year.-May Give Becker
Clemency.
(National News a Association)

(National News ASsOciatton)
NEW YORK, July 31-While Jack"
Rose, who claims to have been the col
lector of blackmail from New York 8
underworld for Lieut.. Charles A. Beck
er, today was writing a full confession
of the graft system which he charges
has netted the police $2,4OO,OO0 year,
a dragnet was uot for the assassins
who shot down James Varella, the be-
trayer of Dago Frank Cirocici, the only
one of the men charged with the ac-
tual killing of Herman Rosenthal, now
in custody.
Varella, who ran the Cafe Dante at
1853 West 34th street, a favorite haunt
of gamblers and gunner, was "Dago
Franks" intimate and confidante and
to him the underworld charged the ar
rest of the accused slayer. Varella was
killed in his cafe yesterday but it was
not until early today that the police
learned that his death was directly
due to the arrest of Cioricici.
Four men are said to have done the
shooting. Two are under arrest. Frank
Coliner, a noted gunman, and Albert
Contino, young Italian who was
wounded and is now in Bellevue hos
pital. The police are looking up Coli
ners record and meantime are on the
trial of two other men who they were
in on the killing and both of whom
are noted in the underworld gunfight-
ers who can be had for that kind of a
job.
--. .~-.- Confession Important. ~
The completion of Rosas confession
containing as it will a complete tabu-
lation of blackmail collected by Rose
for Becker for distribution among the
men higher up as Rose charges, is
confidently looked to by district attor-
ney Whitman to give him the last wea-
pom he needs to force an exposure of
police alliance with crime that will
dwarf anything else of its kind ever
known
Becker, according to the district at
torney, stands in the shadow of the
death chair as the case now stands
and his only hope to escape the ex-
treme penalty is to confess all that he
knows.
May Grant CIemency.
In order to get the men at the top of
the graft system Whitman is willing
to grant clemency to Becker and he
believes that the latter will sooner or
later break down and tell the full
story
Becker's nerve has held fairly well
so far, but so did the nerve of Rose,
Louis Webber and Harry Vallon, until
reflection in their cells for few days
brought to them a realization that the
district attorney had them helplessly
enmeshed in his net. Then they told
all. Becker, the district attorney be-
lieves, will follow the same course.
Becker's defense will be that Rose
and Webber and Vallon are framing
up job on him to save themselves.
His friends today declare that he is
man of iron nerve and will fight to
the last and then go to the death
chair if necessary, without uttering q
word to implicate any of his assist
ants.
A close friend of the lieutenant said
today that Becker's counsel had the
declaration of five witnesses to prove
that the whole thing is a frame-up.'
Rose, according to this man, was Bee
ker's stool pigeon in getting informa-
ton on which to raid gambling houses
and when he, Webber and Vallon
found themselves in fix that prom
ised either the chair or long prison
terms, they Matched the scheme to
get clear by throwing the burden Cl
the Rosenthal murder on Becker.
Becker never had anything to do
with the killing of Rosenthal, direct
ly or indirectly" this man declared.
Becker is under constant guard in
his cell in the federal wing of the
Tombs.
The removal of Webber, Vallon and
Fose to the west side prison because
of their fear of assassination has left
as the Rosenthal murder prisoners in
the Tombs, Becker, "Dago Frank" and
Jacob A. Reich. or Jack Sullivan, as
he is known, King of the newsboys,"
and close friends of Becker. District
Attorney Whitman today planned to
send witness after witness before the
grand jury with added details of the
graft and murder case.