The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-23
NE|Ny0RK BANDITS.GHOST |S NAMED ARE RUNNING W|LD#As CO- RESPONDENT.
Thugs Rob And Blackjack Right And Left In The
 Big City

NEW YORK, Dec. 22.-The crackle of pistol fire and the muffled thump of the blackjack again mingled with the voice Of the city today as banditry in various forms broke out anew after a period of truce.
 It is not yet certain how the casualties were divided between the citizenry and the outIawry. Although Salvatore de Atello had killed his man more than year ago and thus had qualified as a gangster, he may have been defending the law when he was shot three times in the head and left dead in a uttered areaway between two tenements on the lower East Side.
 There were four main incidents in the resumption of the fight along a wide front, but so well were the po lice guarding the millions of dollars in Christmas cash and mercantile treasure In the big shopping centre that no raids were attempted there.
 The first disturbance was an nounced by pistol shots cracking through the murk of Elizabeth street, in the center of the gang territory, just at dawn. Patrolman James Johnson leaped off his hydrant and tore down the pavement after
 
 through the mist, running out of the areaway. They had a long start and scuttled off through some of the passageways which form laby rinth in the neighborhood. Johnson returned to the spot, where he had seen them first and his flashlight threw an unseemingly halo about tn. head of Di Atello sprawled in the litter. Detective Rocco Marone came pant1ng up moment later.
 O O O
 Identifies The Man.
 Who Is it? D'you knowT' John son asked
 Sure, it's Di Atello," said Marone. "He killed by brother, Joe, and they gave him IA months in Elmira."
 Investigating further, the two policemen discovered several cases of cans of olive oil and other Italian de1icatessen heapeu on the ground outside the rear of little grocery store. Bars had sbeen wrenched from the windows and considerable racket must have been made as the burglars toiled at their work.
 Any regrets that the policemen may have felt for the sudden taking off of Salvatore Di Atello were well under control when Inspector Dom mick Henry hurried up slightly ahead of the morgue wagon. How ever it was not to be determined . whether Di Atello was a member of the burglary party and quarreled with his colleagues, or happened upon some strangers at their task and was shot for thwarting them.
 Another Italian, Salvatore Dfllio, is likely to die for the overzeal of two bandits, who entered his little spaghetti and cheese store. Without even asking him for his money, one of them whacked him over the skull with a bandaged length of gas pipe and sprawled him in the sawdust. The other opened the cash register and they ran off with all the money, iostling a woman customer who en- tered in time to get their descrip tions. Dillio recovered consciousness for moment at the hospital.
 Fourteen Cents Loot.
 How much money was there in the cash register" detective asked who had been posted at the bedside to get all possible information from Dillio before death should come.
 "Fourteen cents" said DilIto. "O-oh, my head" and lapsed off.
 John Lackner. president of paper company, was carrying a payroll of $1.500 through the streets of Astoria, not long way from whera the Diamond brothers and their asso ciates lately killed two bank mes sengers. Two men, with pistols, materialized in front of him. Lack ner kicked first. His boot caught one of the men in the solar plexus and sent him down, retching in agony The other fired once, dropping Lack ner with slug in the shoulder The one who fired then ran to an automobile and got away. The other was dragging himself off when policeman came around a corner and dropped on him. He said his name was John OBrien and the rogues gallery showed that he had a prison record.
 Then there was crap game hold up, which the police believe was a plant" Three men with guns dropped in on a crowd of 24 sportive youths in a house in Brooklyn and took their money, watches and rings. The estimate of the loss run from s10,000 to $20,000, crap-shooters jewelry being not always what 1t seems.
 The owner of the place and his clerk were arrested, charged with framing up the hold-up, which de- vice is not without numerous pre- cedents in the experience of the police.