The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-05-24

WM493no-AA0y6S AOS-HoVV OSSA
kiiled within the last 10 years.
The money came from insur-
afice-SiOO,0OO carried on the
lives Of persons killed by the
poison. ring. But sometimes the
murdered seems to have been in
sefested only in making way for
a.kheW, love, or even in stimu-
iattns the affections of the vic
tim *
szstSefs Victims. New Crimes
izhA these figures are tentative,
ioE every week has added new
ahbsfs 10 sthepline of victims. u
8 lie story, so amazing when
fift tuggested that lpalloused po-
hek officials refused to. believe it,
krtk last rtoberSwith the death
Oh auPA worker Where it will
cad authorities aren't ready to
go The trials alone, some. as
set. may take all summer.
qfaoisoh was by no means the
ofik murder-for-profit weapon.
AiithDrities say men were drown
e5<ih rivers or on fishing trips
o4fsihe Atlantic coast; they were
Bnhd with automobiles; heads
wefel crushed with sandbags and
tite victims thrown downstairs
ak ways in which it would seem
that death had been accidental.
AIi the victims had been in
stised. One poison often used was
khbn'n as "witch's brew, another
vas the same hemlock the phil
asopher Socrates drank when
eondemhed to death. !. The .syndi-
cate collected all, or a share of
the INSURANCE on the victims.
Here's An Idea -. ~
! Here's one way the scheme
was worked o.. '74tt-. '.at~ -.
A plotter became acquainted
with a relative. of a possible
yi1itn. II the marked man had
no Insurance, steps would be TAX
en-. to ,haveia policy issued for
him; with the relative as bene-
ffciafy. ~ esq.,.
$ Then followed a period. of wait
inn Eventually. the marked man
feff III. of some natural ailment
and a. doctor was called. The doc
tor would prescribe a medicine
aud Into that medicine the con-
s1lfafors dropped their poison.
The poisons chosen were those
difkedh to detect. They left hard
IN trace in the victims body.
"a plan like that killed the WPA
man ode Ferdinand Alfonsi. Her
flish zPetfillo' worked that one.
But he made a mistake in his
djaiEe. Of a.'friends" to help him
cary put.the scheme The friends
M6fe two secret service opera
tvs who had been trying to con-
le8 Petffllo to counterfeiting ac-
tiVftiesy esn.RGt Ht5.,..
: Bodies Are Eshumed
blohsi's wife. Stella, arrested
aIvIsr with Petrille3 lis awaiting
tell Petriilo. once IA. spaghetti
saiksf1an. has. been convicted of
Murder. with the death penalty
mandatory. sIie. so ;st,t
By this time bodies of other
suspected victims had been ex-
hufied and traces of poison were
found in some of them. A 200
pound woman, Mrs. Carina Fa-
vat6. was put on trial. The pro-
ceedings had not gone far when
she startled the court by pleading
guilty, not only in the killing of
her husband. but also in the kill
inasof a son and a neighbor!
The 20 some others arrested
have protested they are innocent
But some. Police Captain James
Kelly says. have signed state
mci1ts duplicating themselves
and others. Philadelphia papers
call il one of the biggest murder
plots In criminal history.
Rooted deep in an Italian quar-
ter if1sa South Philadelphia sec
ton. the ring sought victims and
clients alike from groups of for.
eishsborn or from people ssteeped
Interpretations beliefs.s.
One phase of the. rings activity
/. was TO prey on the desire of UNI
lovely women for affection. Her,
man Petrillo's cousin. Paul Petril.
10. held on murder charge, was
said to be the Lothario of the
plotters.
One woman prisoner asserted
that the little tailor wooed her
then plotted the poison death Of
her insured husband, ostensibly
So he could marry her.
Love Powders. Charm Drops
n other cases. wives were en-,
cotiraged to buy ''love powders
OF charTn drops" to put in theil
husbands food. Those powder:
and drops are believed to have
killed the men so slowly doctor.
were duped.
Judge Harry S. McDevitt sale
at an arraignment he woulc
leave it to the court to determ
sfsaeN