OCR Text |
Show A REAL GOLD BRICK IS POLICE PUZZLE Loot Is Found Melted Into Precious Ingot. FLORENCE. An Ingot of pure gold has baffled Italian police and hampered the liquidation of two cases of robbery perpetrated here last summer. Several months ago a band of thieves broke into Villa Marmagli-ano, Marmagli-ano, mansion of Mrs. Beulah Branch, widow of a Chicago banker, for many years a resident of Florence. Flor-ence. They carried off money, silverware sil-verware and jewels with a total value of more than $100,000. A short time later another theft, the traces of which had strange resemblance re-semblance to the one at Villa Mar-magliano, Mar-magliano, occurred in the palace of Goffredo Visconti, an eccentric 90. year-old multimillionaire of Florence. Flor-ence. Police put their ablest detectives on the case and after four months arrested a prominent jeweler, Ses-tilio Ses-tilio Giannini, of Florence on charges of receiving stolen goods. Following Giannini's confession police captured Otello Balzani, leader lead-er of a band of half a dozen thieves, including his 26-year-old mistress, Valeria Uccifiti. Police have rounded round-ed up the entire band, which now is awaiting trial in the Murate jail of Florence. In the home of a member of the band, Angiolo Cini, police found an ingot of pure gold weighing about 350 grams. Cini confessed that part of the gold bracelets and earrings stolen from Villa Marmagliano had been melted together with rinpc 9nH ntVi- er jewels stolen from Visconti's home. Mrs. Branch's jewels were recovered recov-ered in part in Giannini's shop, but a diamond ring worth $10,000 and a pearl necklace of greater value have not been found. Police have not reached any decision de-cision regarding the gold ingot, which perhaps will be equally di- vided between the American widow and the aged Visconti. |