Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / May 17, 1914, edition 1 / Page 18
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I SUNDAY, MAY 1914. 99 en in. H 1 1 i ! 1 i 1! i U , - ! s ii By vVILLIAM J. FLYNN, Chief of the United States Secret Service. SF.'RF.T S'I-vkc operative was ;1sJ..-:k; a uau 1 suspected of A;-e.n,r one of the Black Haml For days h had trni'.ed this man.; whiie oti.or operatives had watched other ; i,.r, ..f n., sietv. The net was drawing closer about Lupo and Morello. j W knew several of their lieutenant?. j V.tu n-e were sre-dy for more evidence. ' :n. re facts. My meu ere under orders r.-v fin.I out her.- the counterfeitim; p'.hu; was For reasons 1 have previous .y exp!a." v. I h:ill not divu.ze tiie name o t'-e operative in inestioii. ii t.-viiardl naac into New I l 1 ' - V , . .. . w i- j Srarioi:. There tLt' '..rt-.-.-'! i r loaul a i."ar and wnt-into Miuikia: room a::ri i-i:u:.:i l i"i ;: ll.sf "d. id in to K.-rry Th-:i : e w.t I i.ir.i t:e t. vvae.r w an i ret r rued to th nv.na !. E-.-ry i-v of tli-' t i- S? rice operatic on. .ad 'i::n ;L i?oatitcrieIi--r reach --d the J fi.-e ti e operative wa only a fe.v t'ct Vni Hp harried ;o get iu en rry be jostled again, a n on. an carry A . . ' I. - .... n?aw su:: c;s-. iia?n.y a;o.o- rised. but the ce.ay 'j just e kep h:rr. a few paces from tb" counter feiter wrier. L pnr-had a TLe orerati'" co.i'J n?t hear the mine of tbe place to which the ti okf-t a pur chased, but he aw him man jive a rwo dr':.tr bill to the a;ert and reivo fifty Tt in chanz. H- was afraid to ask th1 az-at aat the ti- kt. There was iitt!-: DCSsiLi":ty rhat the aient could be connected with the Black Hand scciety. bft there rcisat "" half a dozen counterfeiters wathinz liiai. and if be showed any ;arti-alar ;nte2est in the niovmeuts of the Black Hinder rhey would immediately tip off their comrade and tbe operative would become the one who was shdowd. For rhe ame reasoa he rboug'at it in advisable to follow tbe man into tbe train. But one thing was established. If th man was one of the counterfeiters and wis go'mg to rfce pFare " weTeTB e ( Vogtn money was beinf made, the plant was at a place which could be reached ; from New York for $1.50 railroad fare. At first I thought it wet Ponfbkeepsie. Tbm T beon to p-ut r and two to ptSr and. remembering that Lupo when he fld from Nw York went to Ardonia, a iittle town back of Highland, N. Y.. I' became conTinoed that the counterfeit ing plant mast be somewhere along the est bank of the Hudson River not far !rona Highland. The exontry a sLort disunce back of .... uui n ui'.u nae tn nvr i Terr i vi!W and nrt 1n:An 1 3 - . I ideal section for the plant of the counter feiters. Investigation ct that whole dis trict -as immediately started, but an ' tinforeseen coop made possible by one of my beat men hatentd the final round-up of tbe counterfeiters. Because it is nothin- like his real name, we will call this operative Logan. Logan is known in the files of the Secret Serrice as a fearless operative. Should the Black Hand members ever m much as truspect that he was in the employ of the government he will be found in aome secluded spot, his body eoTered with knife wounds, the mark of tbe Black Hard pinned to his clothing . a warning to those who would whis per the secrets of the Black Hand. The murderers miht be some day appre-i fteAded, but the reason for the crime would never be known. Those of the public who gave to the incident any at tention at all would set it down to a luabble between thierea and let it go at that. None would ever know that a man had died in the act of performing his duty to the state and to society died a hero unsung. Aiter months of patient toil and after - riskuij hi life a .core of times, Logan j worked his way into the inner councils j f the Black Hand society. 1 On one occasion a member of the ao- 1 ... , . . ! ciety pointed, out to Logan a man whom ; , the counterfeiters called ' Comito the ; Sheep." ..TV... tu ., . icere foes tne man, said the coun- ..... . terfener. who operates the presses. He j it is who actually makes the bogus ! money and it is time that you should j know him." , , t . . , I se friend. At the very earliest tnity he pointed him out to ma j and I knew that at Itst the goal for 1 . T I 1 . , - . . I UICI! 1 IlikU OVCll SllUlUg VS ClOSe hand. l TTil I i j 'I xrWW f (If TTrnTTrr Serine ' j , Viifelfi i I i . I h'l IMIM THE SWEETHEART ft - if; i ! f '.-L v vt; &&MAk&Jti.' I ! ! i iik? S 1 - ! !!i ! ii! , M -'r v.wi n i.w I York. i II . Illi I! il'il ' r'LftiAWf.-Bl-OTrf; I ? ! ' ! ! I fl II I! MiaM. -i h figiii inn inn- r ! m nimto? ut. y-c-i ij lilt: - j v i t f a 1 ; nr i ;.c.vs - '.:vvwr, fnyv str'm lyAiTkiw i u h M i M X.-- K -riMf'Miil li ft:. 1. - - - i i i i i ii -sjt ? - i- ... . 'ar ii fiiJT iVi'x jyvyyyvsri hii ir ib i in i - 1 n-mr- a i rir "iii i'i 1 t i an Tin t' .uf tt i Now, !n' a lifllo flat in Xovv VnrL- i-itv with :l woman named Cateriaa. He being the ; man that printed the notes I. of course, j expected to find handles of them iu bis ; rooms, together with letters and other 1 Ar;.t,..,..i i ! vavi'.:.t vviilitAlIU lillll m 1111 a-d''. : Ar , , , . . i-i . I Morello and otners. 1 went to nis flat i . i -.. r l UJaKP arrest iu person, jjv iii.mi searchod the place from -ud o,fnL : Every nook aud cranny was pried into, j Catenna was searched and all her be longings were gone over carefully. Not a single bogus note was found, uor wore any blackmail k-ttfrs discovered. I had heard that Coniito was merely the dupe of tbf Black Handers. and that he was cot at heart a criminal nor had he profited at all by the ounterf idling scheme. The lack of evidence in his apartment seemed to corroborate this. '"The Sheep"' was well named. Instead of placing him under arrest I sat down and h3d a louj talk with him Not only was 1 convinced that Comito hail been a dummy, but I soon learned that if I could get him to talk I would have a witness who could fasten guilt upon almost every i man Mia Kan. 4 I n-a a rnnniiiT trt fartii Xbi9 stTan,e .Laracter waa influenced to a remarkable extent by kindness. There were tears in his eyes when I tol1 hlm tLat ueitlier ue nor 'aterina wouia ne arresteu. out tu tn piainesr terms I stated t'aat at the firs; attempt to mingle again with th- Iia k Handcrs he would find himself entangled with the law. Though they were allowed to go free, the Secret Service did not for a moment relax vigilance. The girl was spirited away and put under the protection of tbe government and Comito himself was . under my own supervision. For days i he was in the Custom House in New iraTiiig inc iiiiiiijiii ri'jn disguised aud with me. For days I worked over him. always treating him with Ihe greatest kindness aU1 strivhl to overcome the fear which at times got the better of him. As you .n.n . . . . . snan see when I come to Comito s con- fession. which I shall make public for the first time since it was written for me in long band by MThe Sheep"' himself, , . , , , be bad reason to fear the vengeance of thc s0ciety for which he had worked, He knew what had happened to many a man wuo haa" whispered of the affairs of Black Hand. iach night I went willi Comito to restaurant and dined on i spaghetti with tomato sauce and onion soup until I felt inside like a Sicilian nd .a,lded in to my ginh. At first Cnm!t irlatinnl rnnf ..ii. n i i.: 1 v ' e.auLiu IPJUUll.T il 1 1 f 1 1 1 1 111 il IJI1 enly played with his food. He knew t the men with whom he had to deal and iic- iauic iu iwa uwou uit - me iruii- r - -.VJ 1 I B '. : F I ill At -i t jrir 1 3 giiJLt , .- - 4' - IT 111 sntutive of a ijowcr greater tnau that of (he rKu.k Han(K a pov,.er for aw an1 order whiol, would protect him oveu against the secret vtugoanco of the men from t'orleone. During these exclusions with Cotnito 1 established tho identity of many men . , iiirm; ine coumericj.crs wuom i nau lC,fn,.0 (':.,:. Isn j.ivp hip mu,.h u,.,, llh(nt tbo workings ()f lhe sm.iet,-. its mt-tho'ds ami its activi- ! ties. Closer and closer we drew the net j about the leaders, as Coniito furnished ; us with more and more information. The activities of niy men showed the Black llanders that the Secret Service was learning some of their secrets. The -members of the societ v knew that Co- ' mito had fallen into my clutches aud tney realized that it mcst be ne wiio was tolling me of their affairs. Lupo and Morello offered $2..r00 for informa tion as to where Coniito was. but t hey never found out. Knowing that Logan, the operative who pointed out Comito to inc. was a friend of "The Sheep," Lupo and Morello thought it possible flint the two might communicate. They did not suspect Lo gan of being a spy. Had they done so his life would have paid for it. They would have taken no chances. However, they believed that Coniito might write to Logan. One of Morello" s aids procured from the l'ost Office a regular printed card used i to notify the I'ostmaster of change of address. This was filled out and mailed to the Postmaster with Logan's name signed to it. asking that his mail be f I forwarded to No. li." New Bowery. Now as Logan had actually worked his way into the inner councils of the Black Hand, othor operatives who did not know that he was iu the employ of the govern ment were continually trailing him. As soon as the change of address card was received at the Post Office, one of these men notified me. I asked Logan if he had filled out the card or if he had changed his place of living. "No,'" be said, "I have done nothing of the kind.'.' He was very much surprised to hear that the card had been mailed and more astounded to learn that I knew all about it. He did not know tbat other Secret Service operatives suspected him of being a counterfeiter and were watching his every move. I obtained tbe card and it was at once evident that the signature was not Lo gan's. It asked to have his mail for warded to an address where Don Gasparo kept a drug store in which was a branch post office -used frequently by the Black Hand members. Much of their mail was l i'W.i il 'M 1 H 4SA .DO-NT VE GO TO PHILADELPHIA sent there. It did not take long for op eratives to dig up Gasparos past. He had lived for a long time in the Bronx near the tenement houses built by Mo- rello and Lupo. From time to time ho had beeu associated with Morello in ventures which did not "make for the peace of the community. There were mauy reasons why he should desire to help Morello. So we laid a counter plot to the change of address scheme. From all parts of the country I caused to be mailed letters in vari-colored envelopes addressed -to Logan in the Custom House, New York city. Of course "these letters were all forwarded to the branch post office in Don (iasparo's drug store, at No. 23 New Bowery, and placed in 4he general de livery box marked L. ! Ihe enveloits were made" larsre and colored so that Secret Service men could at a considerable distance, see who took them from the general delivery box. For days my men watched the place. They saw the envelopes placed in the box. They saw men they knew to be .Black llanders go into the drug store and call for mail, but none took the letters writ ten to Logan. A strange face parsing by the window; a hint dropped at some secret meeting; an unknown person seen frequently in tbe neighborhood; any of these would have been enough to frighten the men who otherwise would have called for and taken away Logan's mail. Some Black Ilander may have been on the very point of asking for the letters. A carefree boy passing the store may have whistled shrilly. That would be enough to prevent him fulfilling his mission, Moreover it is doubfful if any man would have gone for the letters without a look- out being posted near the store. Should this lookout become the least suspicious of any person in the neighborhood, or see any one of whom he was not absolutely certain, he would manage to convey to the man inside the store a warning not to act. - But if my little plot failed so did that of the Black Handers. Thev learned where Comito was. All this time I had been gathering information from Comito, and at last in YTashington, after I promised to protect him from the vengeance, of the Black Hand, he wrote his confession, which will show you what the counterfeiters were doing all the time that my men were drawing the' net-a bout them. It has been said that Comito's confession was wrung from him through the so called "third degree." This is not so. It was won through kindness. With some men this would not have been pos sible, tout with "The Sheep"' it was the i ouy- way. Tarts of the confession I will quote verbatim, but it, will (be necessary from time to time to digress and connect the doings of the counterfeiters with the ac tions of my men. It was not until I had Comito's confession complete that I ar rested the members of the Lupo-Morello gang. Comito was a native of Canaiizero, Calabria, a province of Southern Italy. iHe went to New York in the latter part of June, 1007. He had been a teacher in private and government schools and was a printer "by trade. Seven years of his life were spent. in South America, where he learned' to speak Spanish very fluently. In Rio Janeiro he taught school and as sisted the Italian Consul. In introducing his confession Comito wrote in his own quaint way: "You "will pardon me if in reading the story of my connection with the counter feiters there are errors of language and periods not well expressed. "During the latter part of 100S and a good part of 1909 I had occasion to know many- malefactors who from the beginning horrified me and after I had studied their brutal character I feared. .1 refrained from denouncing them to the police because I was constantly in dan- ger of losing my life had I done so "This is the explanation, in a few words, of Comito's connection with the Black Hand Society. He goes oh to say: "My brother met me at the Battery and completing my embraces with him T remained a little confused. Through the ,'dizzl'ing . crowds and traffic he took me to his home. After dinner my uncle, who is a very intelligent man and cau- tious, and who served, the ItalianxgoT- eminent for twelve years as a non-epm- missionejd officer in the line infantry, talked to me privately. " 'Do not acquire bad friendships,' he said. 'Be careful of traps which evil men may lay for you. There exists in New York a band of malefactors who go by the name Black Hand. Every day this band commits crimes, assassinating persons, setting firelo houses, breaking in doors, exploding bombs and kidnap ping children.' ' "My. uncle's talk I took to heart, for I. was desirous only of working and did not think of badness. I was a printer and though I did not know English, very well I thought to get work on an Italian newspaper. At last I ohtained a posi tion with M. Dassori and was able to send considerable money to Italy. I be came a member of the Order of the Sons of Italy and the Foresters of America and in the first named society I became supreme deputy. Business troubles came and I was frequently out of work. "At times I had little money, but I was in love with a young Italian girl, Cater ina, who lived with me and who was my best friend throughout all . the trials which came. We divided our money equally when times were hard and some times Catorina made more than I did. "On the evening of November 5, 190S; I was at a meeting of the Sons of Italy. As was the custom, toward the end of th evening I chatted with the various mem bers of the order. One, Don Pasquale by name, came to me, clasped my hand, and without further ceremony . said, 'Pro fessor will .you take a walk with me? I have something to talk of to-night that will interest you.' " When we were entirely alone, Pas quale said, T know that you seek work and that you are a good printer. I know of a position in' Philadelphia and I can I recommend you for it to my friend there But it will be necessary for you to go to Philadelphia to work.' " 'It makes no difference to me, so that I work,' I told him. - "The next morning I was awakened by a knocking on my door. I opened it and, Don Pasquale and another man en tered. . "'This,' said Pasquale, 'is Don An tonio Cecala. proprietor of a printing shop in Philadelphia.' " Cecala, you. will remember was arrested with Bosearini at one time and served a term in prison for circulating counter feit money. To continue Comito's confession : " 'Are you a printer?' asked Cecala. - " 'Yes,' I replied. " 'Well,' said Cecala, 'I am the pro- prietor of a printing shop in Ph3adel phia. and I need a trustworthy will look after my interests wink I aT away on my other work. in;-pc.otiI1i sewing machines. If we reach an a;re ment I hope that you will bring yon? Vft to Philadelphia with yoa, for thou I sh be more certain of your honesty." " 'But I shall not act as bo?s. You must have other experience a,. there,' I said. " "They do not know their bijj;2esc t Cecala told me. 'They cannot proper j execute the work I wish you to no ' "Cecala then showed me son - k, . order blanks, commercial ...); . an handbills, and I told him that s-uru n0fi was my specialty. "It was agreed that Catenas -.houifl s? with me to Philadelphia, and Corals promised ujs that we shouJd sc on l o S(f wealthy we "would not have to .rfc. ; was' not fixed in my mind jus;; v.-'m, Philadelphia was. for I had nor. bn America long and had remained ,, . th, time in New York. But Cecal;, to:-! m, we would be well taken care of .!;; rj the trip, and that if did nor care j( keep the position I would receivp m, fare back to New York. "When. Cecala promised to pay the rent wc owM ov, out rooms and to discharge any oi iiv :obts Caterina or I had contracted. ! ,va? swept by a great wave of gralit ;: ;o. Ce cala even told me that wc shouM ii-e it thc house where he carried on his bus,: ness, and that there would bo no rent u pay, as he owned it. 'YYhen Caterina returned tVrr. wcr'i that evening she cried with ha;vmies? over tbe news and seemed move joyuf over my own fortune than her own. At first she- did not want to go with m?, however, for she said the trip would b expensive, and she wanted to remain at her work so that all my earning! would benefit me. It was not until J told her that the expenses for both cf us were to be paid that she consented to go. "With Cecala I went to a photog rapher's and bought cameras, plates and a tripod, and then to the printing bhop in which I had worked and struck a bargain for a press which Cecala said he needed. It was on leaving, there that I met 'Don Turi' Cina. whom Cecala in troduced . as his godfather. Cina took my hand in his great paw and shook it so that the bones crackled, and I could j have groaned with the pain of it. He 1 was a terrible man. That I knew at th first sight of him: " 'Do not watch his ordinary clothes,' " said Cecala to me. 'He is a man of gentle manners.' "Late in the afternoon Cecala, Cina.. Don Pasquale and a man named Syl vestre rushed intc our rooms and bejati putting labels on the furniture, which we had packed for shipping. All th time Cecala kept ' me busy with som papers and Catering was so occupied with wrapping up some of the smaller things that neither of us noticed what was printed on the labels. "Just as they were carrying the furni ture from the house my eye caught on of the tags. On it was printed : ''A Cina, Highland.' Suspicious,'! turned upon Cecala. 'Di we not go to Philadelphia:' I cried. " 'A ha ha,' laughed Cecala. snd hit eyes shot black, wicked fire. 'We go t Philadelphia, but the house is really out side the city. This is the place wheK the boat stops and from there walk, twenty minutes. But have no fear, you will be put to no inconvenience, for v.i shall hire a carriage. Do not worry about the labels. It is just as though we were sending the furniture to the Bronx, or Harlem. Would it not be all New York':' " 'But do we not go by raii?' I inquired. " 'That would cost too much,' said Ce cala. 'Besides we could not load the furni ture on the train as we can on the boat It will he a beautiful trip.' "We left New York that evening. When we were not more than two hours from the pier Cecala. came to me and said. j AIr. Comito, we are about to make a very poor showing.' ,"'Why is that?' I asked. " 'Because I find I have not money enough to pay all the fares to Philadel phia. Our friends : .who helped us pack the furniture are going to assist us ia setting vup the presses, so I should cer tainly pay their fare' " 'I have not one penny,' I told Lira. "Whe"h he asked Caterina if she could lend him some money she took five dol lars from her stocking and gave it to him. This was the only money we had between us." In this way Cecala and his friend made it impossible for Comito sod Caterina to escape them if tbey shouii become suspicious. Once more, accord ing to Comito's confession: "Late at night Cecala awoke me nl said that the boat was stopping at U ish- ( land, where we should get off. If was cold and there was snow on the ground, which made Caterina very cross i;.nl we were not at all happy. " 'I am sorry you are both tired after the trip,' said Cecala. 'Philadelphia, ; not far from here, but we wiJ! s'op at the house of my other godfaThor for few days until you are rested.' "We waited for half an hour u: pier and Caterina grew crossor eac'J minute. I myself had many misgivi .?5 yet I felt very grateful to theso r.'jcn and the thought of having good work and saving a little money outweighed all else.- "There was a clattering of h " hoofs and a wagon rattled up to tho i ieJ at great speed. Cecala introduced rh driver as Vincenzo Cigb'o, his father-"'" law, and we drove to his place, w;:?' there was ,a great feast ready wit plenty, of wine, which put Ca ferity a good humor once more. My suspicion were lulled and it seemed that at life was to flow along like a bcaui-'" dream." How,4'life flowed along" for CVin:i and. Caterina you will see by Cue article. i'
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
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May 17, 1914, edition 1
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