The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-11-05
BLACK HAND IN
 BOSTON CAUSES
 REIGN 0F TERROR
Black Hand Letters Still Ar rive at Homes of Boston Italians and Several
 Meet Death
Ky ROGER wALTHAM
Special Dispatch to Tho Age-Herald (Copyrieht 1929, by The ARe-Heraldl

Special Dispatch 10 Tho Age Herald Copyright. 1929. by The ARe-Heraidl
 Boston, November 4.-In the cold dawn of January morning, almost a year ago, Mrs. Michael Scarpone arose with the sound of her alarm clock in her Unity street tenement and. as usual. prepared Michaefs breakfast.
 This task completed, she handed Michael his lunch pail, kissed him with the usual Latin fervor and when he departed, went back to bed to snatch a "cat nap"
 Half an hour later, ashen-faced I'd neighbors carried the body of Michatel home. He was shot twice ] through the heart.
 Michael Scarpone was only an eb- scure Italian laborer
 Today, almost everyone in Boston recognizes his name. When spoken in the Italian quarters of the North End and of East Boston, it is met with shake of the head and grave silence. The investigation of his murder uncovered one of the most sensational and startling cases oi "black hand" activity known to east ern police annals.
 Seven Arrested Following weeks of investigation Inspectors Crawford and Cavagnaro {, leading squad of police. swooped down upon Little Italy" and arrested seven men charged with the murder of Scarpone. They included Joseph Simboli, the alleged leader, and six others. Mascatti. Anzardo, Toscano Dipadova, Bontorno and Tornamei.
 On the very opening day of the trial sinister atmosphere enveloped the court house. Extra court attend ants and police officers were placed on guard Everyone was closely watched.
 Early in the trial Luigi Dipadova one of the defendants. began acting strangely. Within few days ht room and was removed to an insane asylum.
 The remaining six defendants sat stolidly in the prisoners cage. Sim , boil in particular, sat unmoved dur ing the progress of the trial. He saw l Mascatti arise in his seat when the ordeal became too tense, turn upor him and denounce him as being tho leader of the "black hand" and th' instigator of their plots. When one of the states witnesses 1 pdSsSu lHt tdSet oiulpoll $ iips WNi seen to meve and he was heard t mutter The witness later testified that he uttered the word "morte, meaning death in Italian.
 Witness Slain 1 Suddenly, one day toward the clos | of the trial the court was throwi into furore when the telegraph wires flashed news from New Yorl that Carmello Ferraro, one of tn most important witnesses in tn trial, was slain in the garden of hi home in Brooklyn, N. Y. Ferraro wa to have testified in the trial the mex day.
 The jury, when the case reached il argued all night and part of tn next day and then returned a yer 1 dict which startled the court. The, l freed Simboli.
 Mascatti and Anzardo were foun' guilty of murder in the second de gree. The remaining defendant were found not guilty.
 Immediately following the re lease of Simboli, a series of stabbing and shootings with some fatalitie occurred. The police said the victim of the black hand were taking tn law in their own hands.
 Just then Boston folks began {. congratulate themselves that the. had seen the last of the black han, war, the morning newspapers car | ried significant paragraph. Josepl Silva, who lives in the Orien | Heights section of East Boston heard a man screaming terrifiedl. In the night. Siliva donned hi 1 clothing. seized a lantern and ran ou into the darkness. in lonei, i bit of marshland opposite his house he found the body of a man, evi 1 dently an Italian, horriably knifed
 Simboli Stabbed
 The body lay in the morgue fo 1 nearly an entire day. Inspecto Crawford, because of his familiarit. l with the Italians. was called in al attempt to identify the body. H. looked just once:
 '.Simboli." he exclaimed. Ant 1 arrive at the homes of Boston Italians
 One of the most recent was re 1 ported within the last few days. I was received by Charles D. Malaguti | one of Boston's wealthiest Italian residents. Malaguti is president O the Columbia Counter company ont of the largest concerns of it's kins | in the country, and is connected of 1 ficially with score of other larg. l enterprises.
 The letter demanded the paymen' l of S3,000 in tribute to the black hant on peril of death.
 But Malaguti has defied the black | hand.
 | If I come to any harm, now, the | newspapers and the police will have Oeen notified before hand how