Pueblo chieftain., 1921-08-26
BY FREDERIC J. HAsKrN

New York City. Aus. 24.-The
recent confession OF the Italian.
Bertolo Fon,ano. held by the New
York police. has served once moro to
remind us that criminal societies
among our foreign born are still very
real and lively institutions, During
the past few years their activities have
been kept so quiet that the public
rather got tho comfortable idea they
had ceased TO be a menace. The we'll
known Black Hand" after II was in
troduced into the comic supplements.
was regarded as more ridiculous than
dangerous. But all along, II seems.
the Camorra was keeping up its high.
deadly batting average.
The disclosures made by Fontano.
! the police assert. have shed brilliant
/ light on more than seventy murders
now known to have bean committed
by the Bonvontre band of Good Kill
ers." Seventeen murders-seven hero
and ten in Detroit-are entirely cleared
up by the Italians confession, while II
is believed others can now be solved
as result OF IL. At least eighteen
murders committed in the neighbor,
hood of Grand ana Chrystic streets
here (Which by the way. Is In the I'M
m ediatc vicinity OF the city's police
hcadquarters) during the past year,
can be traced to the Good Killers" II
4
ing to the police. is controlled by
/ few powerful leaders in this country.
who. In turn, receive their orders from
the society's headquarters in Sicily.
Fontano's confession Is most un-
tisusl; indeed. almost unheard OF. As
I n rule, the police can obtain absolute
| Is no information from Italians taken
into custody. even tho they have been
victims of. instead Of cooperstors with
tho gang. Recently In Chicago, for
example. when the authorities sought
tho murderers of one Joseph Sinacola,
tho actual witnesses OF tho crime-in-
| ciuding the mans wife and children
feared to testify. They knew moth
ing about 1t. they maintained stub
bornly.
In New York the police are con-
stantIy picking M murdered Italians
whose murderers arc shielded by a
shroud OF eilencc. II the man II KILL
ed by a swif, bullet coming thru tho
I window. his relatives. who saw II
come. will protest that he had no
| enemies and that he had never re-
ceived a threat Of any kind They
cannot imagine who could have done
liz II a man is shot down in broad
daylight in tho center OF the italian
business district. no, a soul will he
found who will admit having witness
cd the crime.
I A Valuable Confession
Yet. once In a long while tho police
are able TO get hold Of Eansrter Ike
| F'ontano. who will give them valuable
Information. Usually the man is on
tho point Of death or is under life
sentence. Ono such was an Italian
named LaEaputc. who was picked up
half dead from a Eunshot wound and
made a confession while lowering
near death In city hospital Another
was Ralph tho Barber" whose sem
satioral confession implicated dozens
Of influential Italians OF the under
world.
4 Ralph Dsniello. widely known as
Ralph tho Barber" was profession
al murderer, employed to kill by the
boss OF his district at the rate Of
ISIS week Ralph betrayed this bose
and several other leaders Of the band
because they failed to keep their
promise to him. They had promised
Ralph to send his wife and children
safely back to italy so that he could
eiope to Nevada with another woman.
Accordingly, the young murderer
eloped. but once in Nevada ne learned
tina, his wife and children were riEh,
where nc had left them. They had
no, gone back to italy. In this failure
Of the "boss men or padrones to
keep their promise Ralph read 3
sinister sign. He had been in their
service long enough to know what
happened to a henchman out Of favor
he was usually found early some
morning with his throat cut
That did not happen to Ralph. In
stead tho mother Of tho girl with
whom he had elored followed them
to Reno and had him arrested. This
action. the young man believed. had
been taken only with the consent Of
the bosses back home, and he swore
he would get even He would take
his vengeance also. he who had for 60
long time made vengeance his bust