Show HEW YORKS MAFIA flow the Bloodthirsty Bandits titrike and Slash SCENES IN MULBERRY BEND A Faint Idea of tho Horrors Practised by the Bands of Dago Cutthroats Cut-throats NEW YORK April 15 18HSpecial correspondence cor-respondence of THE HEUALDA feature of the Mafia that famous organization of banditti waich driven at the bayonets point from its birth place in Sicily has established es-tablished a home in New Yoric New Orleans Or-leans and the other cities of the United States is the determined and unscrupulous opposition it offers to the officers of tho lawA A counterfeiting case tried some time ago well illustrates this peculiarity A Sicilian was arrested for uttering base coin The officers of the government were secretly warned that tho prisoner belonged to tho Mafia and in consequence took every precaution pre-caution to prevent an escape and to ensure a conviction The first move by the criminal crim-inal was offering bail This appeared good at first sight but on a careful investigation proved to ho of straw Nothing daunted by the failure the friends or colleagues of tim counterfeiter attempted to falsify the dies and coin which were to be used in evidence evi-dence Tnis was also prevented by the officers of-ficers of tho law A third stop was an endeavor TO COKUUPT THE COMPLAINING WITNESS This proving ineffectual they tried intimidation intimi-dation but with no greater success A conspiracy con-spiracy was next hatched to kill the chief witness and likewise turned out abortive I The government attorney began the trial feeling certain of securing a convictionand presented a very strong case from which there seemed to be not a loophole of escape Upon tho defense witnesses wore produced by the accused who sworn that ho was innocent inno-cent and that his daughter a girl of about twenty was tno real offender The girl herself confirmed the story and no contradictory contra-dictory witnesses could be obtained by the prosecution The jury found the prisoner innocent und convicted tho woman whom neither the judge nor tho officers believed to be guilty of the crime I In speaking of this society George Rid die A NEW TOUK DETECTIVE said Ono of thoir oddest habits is to settle set-tle their own quarrels without appealing to the courts The system they follow is neither tho duel the vendetta nor bloodshed blood-shed but altogether original I recall a case in Mulberry Bend A gambler belonging belong-ing to the Lombardi gang at No 59 in that street robbed amember of the Pranci gang at No 35 of a watch revolver and considerable consid-erable cash The victim was asleep when it occurred bUj on awakening went resolutely reso-lutely to wot to find out who was the thief In twentyfour hours he had identified the thief to his own satisfaction Getting two friends to join him he ambushed the plunderer plund-erer and with his knife at the latteis throat recovered the revolver but not the watch As this had in all probability been disposed of he took what SIGNET AND VALUABLES his captive had and went back to his home The vanquished thief swore to have revenge re-venge and a few nights afterward when ho found his enemy alone in a low dive attacked at-tacked and slashed the latter with a razor The police appeared upon hearing the outcry out-cry occasioned by the brawlbut the assailant assail-ant escaped The wounded man was carried car-ried to the station house where his cuts were treated by tho police surgeon Though questioned and threatened by the sergeant he refused to give any information concern ing the affray The following week when ho had recovered his strength he put his traveling arsenal into good order and went with bis friends in seatch of his foe Tho latter had anticipated a retaliatory attack and never went anywhere without a bodyguard body-guard On this occasion tho forces were equally matched They met at night IX A DARK ALLEY which was so narrow that only two of each side could reach ono another with their weapons A quick exchange of blows and stubs resulted in the thief and his pall on the ono side and ono of the other being severely se-verely cut The noise drew a crowd on whose appearance the combatants separated as quickly The police appeared in time and captured two of the injured who were streaming with blood They behaved exactly ex-actly as had the other member of the quor rel when ho was arrested There being no evidence against them tho authorities were compelled to discharge them with a slight fine for disorderly conduct and carrying concealed weapons The thirst for blood was still unassuaged In tho ensuing fortnight fort-night tho two crowds had a third and much more serious encounter all being injured and TWO BEING ALMOST KILLED During all this time Franci and Lombardi sat enjoying the tragedy going on under thoir eyes The skill of tile bravos their fortitude bravery and bloodthirstinoBS were discussed and lauded or deprecated according to the faction to which tUe critic belonged After tho third assault there was so much comment and gossip in tho neighborhood so as to attract the attention atten-tion of both tho press and police Then and not until then did Franci and Lombard interfere in-terfere and make peace Mutual forgiveness was sworn by the late enemies and quiet again reigned in the two cellars where the cutthroats live when they are drinking gambling or committing robbery There is a comical side to theso knaves While they are not afraid of the revolver and really enjoy A KNIFE Oil A STILETTO they have a holy horror of tho human fist and of tho club Captain McGullagh and detectives Crystal and Gerow of the Elizabeth Eliza-beth street precinct which includes the low Italian colony seldom resort to weapons weap-ons of any sort in governing and punishing theso miscreants On several occasions they have individually bested two armed ruffians by welldirected blows from the shoulder Such action deserves more than comment on account of the cool courage required re-quired These brawlers are seldom satisfied satis-fied with a single weapon but always go provided with an armory The loose pockets pock-ets of the coat the seams of tho baggy trousers and the folds of the great belt or sash with which they girt the waist give every opportunity for the carrying of a weapon which can bo used instantaneously Ono follow who was arrested in this precinct pre-cinct capped the climax in this regard He carried upon his person not less than two revolvers two razors a caseknife hunt ingknife and a stiletto W E S FALES |