The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-09-22
BULLET THRU HEAD
Kansas City Police Solving
Latest Murder Case. .
Woman, Whose Body Was
Burned, Identified.
MAY BE VICTIM OF FEUD
Frank MOnteIeOne, Pool Hall
Owner, Is Arrested.
Action Taken Following AnOny-
nous Tip to Police.

Kansas City. Sept. 22.-Frank Mon
teleone. pool hall owner, who identi-
fled the partly burned body of Rosie
Cereka, found yesterday near North
Kansas City. today was taken into
custody by the police. His arrest fol-
lowed an anonymous telephone call to
the police from a woman. The slain
girl lived in rooms above Monteleone's
pool hall.
Police authorities today were in
Vestigating the murder of the girl
whose half burned body was found on
a brush pile near North Kansas City
yesterday. The torso was identified
last night by Frank Monteleone, pro-
prietor Of a local pool ROOM, which is
situated under the quarters of the
dead girl.
That the murder is connected with
series of murders in the Restiva
and Campanella families here was one
OF the theories upon which the police
were working officers stated. Police
said they had been informed that the
girl was a member of one of these
families. A feud has existed between
the families for several years, it was
stated.
Found BY PeddIcr. SITE.
The body was found by an itinerant
peddler. Half of it had been burned
away in what. police believe, was an
attempt of the murderer to hide the
identity of the young woman. She
had been killed by a bullet thru her
head A jug which bore evidence of
having contained kerosene was found
near the body.
DR.. w L. Wysong. coroner of Clay
county. said that the girl was not
murdered before being brought into
the wooded district where the body
was found. declaring that dirt found
on her shoes was mixed with oil from
freshly oiled road near by.
Body is Identified.
After Monteleone identified the
body at an Undertaking establishment
in Liberty, he fell to the floor tearing
his hair and muttering in Italian.
Later he told officers that he believed
he knew who killed the girl, but re-
fused to say whom he suspected. He
said he had kept company with the
girl for some time prior to his mar
rage in January. The girl came tS
Kansas City from Dallas, Tex, about
We years agt he said. She married
at the time but later her husband left
Kansas City and is believed to have
returned to Texas.
Police said they were investigating
reports. that Rosie had been seen in
company with a man last Monday
morning near the murder.
y man who said he saw the couple,
police declared, stated he could identi-
fy the man.
al. i Police Find Note.
+ TIE, theofy that Miss Cereka may
have been another victim of the
-Campanella feud was ad-
vaDced today by the police with the
find ns of two additional clews.
one was a note scrawled in ink,
found in the slain girls rooms. 1t
reua:
"Lon't forget what you have done.
Your death is near"
The missive bore no signature other
than large Ky and was undated.
The other clew was information
which came from Dallas Tex, where
the Restiva -Campanella feud orig
mated, that the slain girl was the di-
vorced wife of Mike Rastanti, a cousin
of Vito Campanella, Jr., who met
death in the Camorra.
Told of Death Threats.
Friends of Miss Cereka told the po-
lice the girl frequently in the last
several weeks confided to them that
her life had been threatened and that
She was in constant fear. Beyond that
she refused to divulge any details.
u was said The police. however, have
not entirely abandoned the theory that
the girl may have been the victim of
a rejected sutton who lured her to the
woods, killed her aud, tried to burn
the body with kerosene to hide evil
dence of the crime.