The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-08-21
Right Wing Uses the Courts

was sold out completely to the opera
tors, and held control by solid in
ner union organization of the con-
tractors, petty employers of labor,
who stood between the operators and
the miners. Nobody has ever found
a good reason why such men should
be in the union at all-they are not
of the working class, they represent
capitalism.
Local 1903 members beat the re-
dictionaries and elected progress
sive slate, and the Cappelini-con-
tractor machine started a quite
simple campaign to kill all of them,
using Chicago gangster technique.
The Pennsylvania Coal Co. rushed
to the cid of it's Lirelings, and closed
down the mine Colhery No. 6, in
which all the members of Local 1903
were working.
Two weeks after the election,
Thomas Lillis was walking home
with Alex Campbell, progressive
checkweighman at No. 6, and one of
the leaders in the 1920 strike.
Machine gunner stepped out of am
bush and shot Lillis dead.
The local authorities did nothing
to apprehc--d his murde-ers.
About three weeks later, on Feb.
16, Samuel Bonita, the progressive
president of Local 1908, with Adam
Moleski, of the local grievance COM
mittee, and union member, Steve
MENDOZA, appeared at the office of
District President Cappelini in
Wilkes Barre, to see if something
could not be done about the shut
down and other grievances at No. 6.
They were met in the district presi-
dents office by Frank Agati, the
corrupt former president Of Local
1903, ousted when the Bonita adj
ministration was elected. Agati,
since his loss of office, had been put
on the Cappelini payroll for fat
salary as an "organizer," really as a
gunman guard for Cappelini. After
a few words passed, Agati swung
his fist at Bonita's face, jumped
back, jerked out his gun, and began
shooting. Bonita started shooting
too, and shot better. When the
smoked cleared away, Agati was
dead Six shots had been fired; one
of them certainly, accord ng to the
report of Captain Jones of the
police department, who investigated,
by gun which could have belonged
to none other than Agati. Perhaps
other shots were fired by Agati.
Mendola's gun had not been fired.
Moleski was not armed.
But the murder system with the
authorities doing nothing to inter-
fere, was too good. On the night
of February %, Campbell and Reilly
rode to Campbell's house in small,
cheap sedan. They had been on a
visit to Bonita, MENDOZA and Moles-
Xxi at the Jail. A carload of gang
sters drew alongside at Railroad St.,
and one fired burst from a
machine gun into them. Others in
the gangster car used shot guns,
and automatic revolvers. Campbell
and Reilly never had chance. Their
car was absolutely riddled, they
were nearly shot to pieces.
Eventually Ralph Mellasiri was
convicted of the murder of Reilly.
Mellasiri was known to be Cap
pelini thug. No attempt was made
to convict those who paid him. Lo-
cal bosses papers expressed sur
prise at the verdict, and prophesied
an early pardon.
Real prosecution was reserved for
the man who dared to shoot back at
one of the assassins, and for his
companion. After farcial, hurried,
three day drum-head court martial
sort of trial in the employer-con-
trolled courts of Wilkes Barre, a
jury most evidently in fear of gang
sters tried to bring in a verdict of
involuntary manslaughter" against
Bonita. Andrew Melons coal opera
tor judge, Mclean, sent them back
for a verdict of "manslaughter."
They brought it, recommending
mercy, on April ID, 1923. The judge
gave Bonita the limit: 10 to 20
years. He is in the Eastern Peni-
tertiary of Pennsylvania. 1s.,s
-.. ..sS.s.-tR