Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-08-27
The Murder Market
by Frederic J. HAsktn


New York. Aug. se.-The recent
confession Of the Italian. Bertolo
fontsno. held by the New York po-
lice. has served once more to remind
us that criminal societies among our
foreign horne are stili very real and
lively Institutions. During the past
few years their activities have been
kept quiet that the public rather got
the comfortable idea they had ceased
Ia be- menace. The weil-known
Black Hand" after 1t was introduced
into the comic supplements. was re-
earded ss more ridiculous than dan
rerous. But all along. II seems. the
somorra was keeping up its high.
deadly batting average.
The disclosures made by Fontano.
the police assert. have shed a brilliant
lisht on more than seventy murders
now know To have been committed by
the Bonsentre band of Good Killers
Seventeen murders-seven here and
ten in Dctroit-are entirely cleared
up by the Italians confession. while IT
is believed others can now be solved
az a result OF il. Al least eighteen
murders committed in the neighbor-
hood OF Grand and Chrystie streets
here (Which by the way. is i'm the inn
mediate vicinity of the city's police
hcadquarters) during the past year.
can be traced TO the Good Killers"
% is thought. This jovial band, ac-
cording 10 the police. is controlled by
"A few powerful leaders in this coun-
try. who. in turn. receive their orders
from the society's headquarters in
Sicily.
Fontano's confession is most un-
usual: indeed. almost unheard of. As
a rule. the police can obtain absolutely
NO information from. Italians taken
into custody. even though they have
'ecn victims of. instead OF cooperators
with the gang. Recently in Chicago,
for example. when the authorities
sought the murderers OF one Joseph
sinacola. the actual witnesses of the
crime me-including the mans wife and
children feared 20 testify. They
knew nothing about IL, they main
tained stubhorniy.
In New York the police are con-
siantly picking up murdered Italians
whose murderers are shielded by n
shroud Of silence. II the man is kill
"a by a swift bullet coming through
-the window. hts relatives. who saw it
csfnc. will protest that he had no
enemies and that he had never re-
cclvcd a threat OF any kind. They
cannot imagine who could have done
1t. ff man is shot down in broad
daylight in the center Of the Italian
business district not a soul will be
found who will admit having Witness
ID the crime.
Valuable Confession.
Yet. once IN long while. the police
are able to get hold of gangster like
tontano. who win give them valuable
Information. Usually the man is on
the point of death or is under a life
sentence. One such was an Italian
named Iagaputo. who was picked UP
half dead from gunshot wound and
made a confession while lowering
near deafh in city hospital. An
either was Ralph the Barber" whose
=, psationaI confession implicated
dozens az influential Italians of the
underworld
Ralph Daniello, widely known as
Ralph the Barber" was a profession |
a. murder. employed 10 kin by the |
boss" OF his district at the rate OF 1
sia a week. Ralph betrayed this 1
boss and several other leaders Of the |
band because they failed 20 keep |
their promise 20 him. They had /
promised Ralph 10 send his wife and |
children safely back 70 Italy so that |
he could elope TO Nevada with another |
woman. Accordingly. the young
murderer eiopcd. but once in Nevada /
lie learned that his wife and children /
were right where he had left them. /
Thcy had not gone back 10 Italy. In |
this failure OF the boss men or I
fadrcnes 20 keep their promise Ralph /
read sinister sign. lie had been ia 4
their service long enough 10 know 1
what happened 10 a henchman out OF I
favor he was usually found early /
some morning with his throat cut
That did not happen 70 Ralph. In /
aleAd the mother Of the girl with 4
whom ne bad eloped followed them 1
o. Reno and had him arrested. This 1
action. the young man believed. had 4
been taken only with the consent OF 4
she bosses back home. and he swore
BE- would get even. he would take /
bis vengeance also. he who had for 4
~ ionT time made vengeance his 4
business. That was In November I
III 1Na H4nAr llfAf AAt RNiltt nave D
known a great deal about the men
who rule Little Italy.
They know. for instance. that the i
Italian underworld recognizes no laws
against gambling drug trafiioking.
white slavery. or liquor selling. These
activities are controlled entirely by
boss men ~ the district who earn a
iukuflous livelihood by licenses and
tributes eXacted from the owners Of
such enterprises Occasionally. they
80 in fof biackmaillng or kidnapping
but these are usually resorted 10 in
nrsisf ln terr0rizp someone who has
deiiod their authority. Through Ralph
ths puiice learned that there were
ihlur blE ranRs or trusts" that con-
itollsd uli of the big Italian colonies
ui fhc city. one 81 them was the
Mulberry Street or downtown gang
uhs was the Harlem gang and the
ihird Waa tne Navy Street or Brook
|tn gang. Each of the first two was
lasd by three padrunes. while the
Brooklyn Gang had four bosses. These
lsH iueu had forty OF nifty killers. ne
{old ihe police. who were each paid
ur ego a week. They administered
Justice hy means Of these henchmen
nd never personally participated IN
the shedding Of blood. All at them (
,ssfs engaged In legitimate enter