New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-07-28
Addicts Picket
Drug Purveyor
AS Profiteer
Federal Agents Say Woman
in Auto on Broadway
Supplied Narcotic to Ven
ders, Who Made Big Gain
Dilution Caused Strike
''Customers'' Forced End to
Adulteration; the Police
Take l47 in 36-Hour Raid

York's white light district, which, Fed
eral agents say, actually called strik,
and picketed the source of their mar
cotic supply, was revealed yeste rda,
in what +. j. Fitzpatrick, chief Of thu
Federal Narcotic Squad. regards as thu
most sensational raid during his tenure
Of Office: The raid was accomplished
during the rourd-ups conducted by DR.
Carlton Simon, special deputy police
commissioner, whose men have WORKED
thlrty-siX hours continuously with
tota! of LAT arrests Of addicts and ven
doris
The raid Of the Federal agents OF
the night life section resulted in foul
men, whose earnings are said to have
reached $4,000 day, being held b,
United States Commissioner Hitchcocl
in $4,000 bonds. The suspects are tx
be charged with conspiracy and al
ready have been bound over on charges
Of violating the Harrison anti-narcotit
law by vending drugs. The men unde1
bonds arc John and Patrick Ferrara
brothers, of $50 Mott Street; Sam Tt
tomaglio, 81 East Houston Street, ant
Pasquale Covillo, 276 Mott Street.
A six-cylinder touring car, formerly
the property of the Ferrara brothers
was seized in the raid with narcotics
worth several hundreds of dollars.
Drugs Sold in Broadway
On July 10 it was reported to the
Federal agents that from four to eight
| men each afternoon and night, were
peddling narcotics on Broadway from
an automobile. Tho men returned to
the automobile at intervals for their
supply it was said.
One headlight of the automobile was
left dark, so that the vendors could
distinguish it easily from others drawn
up at the curb. The car had regular
stands from Forty-second Street to
Fltty-ninth Street on Broadway. When
the vendors were absent from the car
it was guarded, it is said, by two gum
men and woman, who sat in the car
and supplied the drugs to the vendors.
The car operated along Broadway in
full view of thousands of persons each
afternoon from 2 to q o'clock and each
evening from 8 until nearly midnight,
the Federal authorities assert
Three or four nights after the Fed
eral agent began watching the car, it
IS said, the accused drug vendors, not
satisfied with the enormous profits they
were making, began diluting their
product. This resulted, agents say, in
the customers of the car "going out on
strike" They placed pickets on the
sidewalk forty feet each side of the
car and warned all prospective pur-
chasers that the vendors operating the
car were unfair"
This strike, the authorities allege.
resulted in couple of nights poor
business, after which the accused vend-
ers again began selling undiluted
forms OF drugs, and the business picked
up and earnings increased, in some in
stances to $4,000 day.
Agents Tell of Purchases
Federal agents assigned to watch the
drug dlspensary on wheels say they
made several purchases with marke d
money, paying the underworld market
price for cocaine, morphine and heroin,
morning they staged their raid.
Federal Agents Oyler, McCarver, Pa
cetta, Kubik, McGrath and Yaselli
sWooped down on the car, and with
drawn revolvers ordered the accused
vendors to make no sound, and to drive
to headquarters. Two gunner, who
were to have guarded the car from
the sidewalk against just such con-
urgency, made a quick escape through
the crowds. The woman was allowed
to depart.
Under seats, in the pockets of the
car and elsewhere were found hun
dreds of small walls of opium deriva-
tives and cocaine, which are being held
as evidence, agents say.
~ simon yesterday was listing ar
rested subjects and computing a total
OF arrests which finally reached eightv-
one men and women ranging from six
teen to seventy years old. This is a
record total for two days.
RAIDS of the special detectives of
Or. Slmon's narcotic squad continued
last night. Most of those arrested
were addicts, and as addicts carry onlv
small quantities of drugs the seizures
were not large. The narcotics taken
were turned over to the police property
clerk. r "
Child Traps Father
IN all, slxty-six alleged addicts and
Venders We're captured yesterday.
According to detectives Coonan, Cot
Pinto, of 176 Eldridge Street Pinto's
five-year-old daughter, Rosanna gave
them the information leading to his
arrest. The detectives said thew had
been following him for a week and YES
terday when he drove off with his
daughter, they followed in another
car.
Pinto, they said, left his car with
the little girl in it on Tenth Avenue
VI ~ -elPnCn OJreet and the de-
tectlves engaged her in conversation.
She told them, they said, that her
daddy had gone to see CUSTOMER"
to sell him some of that white now
der" She also announced, the detec-
tives said, that daddy got the whote
powder from a snip and was going to
take her to see the ship some day.
she readily agreed, the detectives
said, to lead them to daddy and took
them to Frederick Levy's home at
5l5 West Forty eighth Street. Lew
and Pinto both were arrested each
having three bottles of heroin. it is
alleged. The detectives said they
FOUND two more bottles of the drug
under the seat of the automobile.
Another prisoner, Louis Enond. of
229 Bowery, appeared to have no drugs
IN his possession when first searches
by Detectives Jocher and Schudel
Jocher noticed, however, that one of
the clutches carried by the man was
heavier than the other. He found he
said, that the lower part of the lighter
crutch unscrewed and that there were
three bottles of heroin in cavity in
the leg OF it. :"