The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 9, 1905, Page 26

26 THE SAN FRANCISCO CAL! SUNDAY, APRIL 9 MURDER MYSTERY NEARING SOLUTION. TRACE CRIME TO THE MAFIA Police Convinced Thaf Room in Rear of| a Mason-Street Fish Market Was Murderers’ Rendezvous murder of Vilardo was the work | four corners of: the giobe if necessary. rganized gang and the result of | No one hes yet been found who can plot. That Is the theory of |SWeAr positively that he ever saw Vilardo enter the place. It is rumored, es, for within the last twen- | o { however, that he was a member of the four hours developments that tend | gociety and frequently attended these | to show the plottings of the.dreaded | nightly sessions. The members always Black Hand” have come to light. One | entered the rendezvous one by one | f the meeting places of the band is lo- | through a small back door so as not to | broke | ed om Mason street, opposite the IhP observed. When the meeting: r shop of Jose Rala, where Bro- | UP: the members dispersed in the same was murdered January. | way. Unless one were familiar with 2 esvens & the workings of the society it would e rendezvous small room back | fish market of Antoni Lapoli, \ this place men have been wont and conspire for many past. But, strange to say, the remains of Vilardo were dis- the nightly meetings of the rs have ceased and none of them | be almost impossible to discover that a meeting was in progress. WORKED IN ALAMEDA. Vilardo Was Employed by the Light Company in That Clty. en seen in their accustomed | OAKLAND, April 8.—Biaggio Vil-! a |ardo was formerly employed by the | ,night that Brogardo was shot ) Oakland G Light and Heat Com- his tracks & meeting had been | pany in this city and while here be- e back room of ‘the fish mar- | came a warm friend of Frank Gordo, wild orgy followed. A fight!|g Portuguese employed by the same dently taken place there, and :com Vilardo was unable to| e theory is that the men plotted to ! speak English and ft was through e life of Brogardo that very | Gordo that he secured his position. ¢ when the opportunity of- o's former employers speak well ere e deed was done. of him and 1ong the men with F Maranda, Rosario Domina | whom he workedshe has the reputa- sofumi, men now held |tion of being a hard and willing by the police, have worker. frequent that pl In Vilardo was . in the employ of the| company when Giuseppe Bro- was murderéd in San Francis- 1d shortly after the murder hé prom t mem ongregated ther rded as frien st what th of the case to his friend, Frank ardo has not Gordo told the following} 1 of the conversation to- might, the evening betore “Vilardo could speak no English. he used to talk’ to me a grea as I speak some Italian. ‘When Brogardo was killed \in San Francisco ' o told me that he would have to bury him, and he $aid that he had only been able to get $20 toward the funeral expenses. He did not say that he feared he would incur the enmity of Brogardo's foes by taking charge | of the funeral, nor did he express any r that would be killed by the | act” ., READY TO BEGIN WORK ON THE he fia because of I w Several Tools Carloads of Are Now on the Ground at Hazen. April 8.—The first work on that is to compete with the ilroad into Los Angeles will { Hazen Monday morning. Sev- eral carload scrapers, mules and menl arrived to-day for the work. The stretch between Hazen and Fort Churchill, connecting with the Carson and Colorado Railroad, will be com- pleted within ninety days. - The line to the coast, it is fgured, will be in operation within twelve months. real Mafia Al INO. purposes when a his doom is followed to the | RAILROAD | Laborers and to get ready | IS HIDIN Suspect | Detectives are still scouring the city { and its outlying districts with the hope ! of apprehending the ‘murderer of Blag- { glo Vilardo. Captain Burnett and Chief Dinan do not believe that Pletro Tortu- | riti has left’the city. They have learn- ed that the murderer is without funds. It is regarded as certain that Torturiti was not the umy one concerned in the murder. “I do not believe much of the story told me by Resa Torturiti,” said Cap- tain Burnett last night. ‘“‘She is con- cealing many facts from us and I think | that she knows where her husband is at this time. 1 believe that if she was’ +not a participant in the murder that ishe was a witness and assisted in cleaning up the evidence of the crime. “We have caught her in many lies fand there are discrepancies in her story. Whenever a question is asked her that would tend to elicit any infor- mation as to the method of the murder Lor her conpection with it, she shrugs her shoulders and refuses to talk. 1 be- | lieve that we will haye the murderer in | custody before iong. The murder may have arisen through‘a quarrel between the murderer and his victim over Tor- turiti’s wife.” Many theorles prevail among the de- It is be- t | | tectives working on the case. {lieved by some that Torturitl is at this i time some distance from the city, aided | and hidden by his friends who were the | partners in the bloody deed. Others cling to the theory that he is still in the | Ldtin quarter, where they say he is afe for a time from detection, on ac- eount of the fear that possesses the talian and Sicilian inhabitants of that portion of the city. Another thing that shows that the woman is protecting her husband is the statement of Detective Nick Bakulich, | who aided in the house-to-house search | on the -morning of the discovery of the bloody trunk at Vallejo and Powell| streets. Among the houses visited by | Bakulich -was the Torturiti home, at| 736% A Green street. Bakulich showed Rosa Torturiti the shawl and blanket | in which the dismembered corpse was | wrapped and she promptly denied ever | having seen them before. |, The organization that promoted the killing of Vilardo has probably raised | | enough_money to get Torturiti out of | { town. It is known that members of the | | Police Department are watching the| suburb haunts of the Italian and Sicil- |ian races, in the hope of apprehending | the murderer. i REMOVE GHASTLY EVIDENCE. 1 Detectives Relieve Green-Street House of Blood-Stained Relics. The crowd of the ¢uripus shifted its ! | gathering place -fromi-the Morgue to | | the scene of the crimeat 736%A Green Murderer’s Frying to ‘Sh'iel'd_. ‘Him. BELIEVE TORTURITI G HERE. Sleuths Are Scouring City Wife. 1Is sireet yesterday. Hardly had the news been given -out that the place where the murder’was committed had been discovered -when several hundred per- ons gathered around the house. The report spréad like wildfire and early in the marning Green street was black with a.craning mob. The- house- is but a few doers from the corner of Mason street. The land- lord, Becker, with his mother, niece and son, fives in the two upper floors, while the ground floor was occupied by the Toruritis and Vilardo. Every one of the four rooms where Vilardo met his horrible death was ransacked by the detectives in their search for evidence. The police stationed on the outside .0f the house were kept busy keeping the crowd back and ejecting those who had no authority to enter the premises. Detectives Taylor and Harrisen gath- ered together what there was in the house to bé taken to the station for use as evidence. Particular attention was given to any article that showed traces of blood and every articie of ap- parel was closely examined. One of the most startling discoveries during the day was that of a woman's apron found in the bedroom of the Toruritis, - A small particle of hu- man flesh- was detected on it. flesh was placed In a bottle of alcohol and will be analyzed. The blood-bespattered wall of the supposedly unoccupied room where the crime was committed was carefully examined. Though the murdeérer tried to hide all'evidence of the foul deed, a glance into the room told that a hor- rible slaughter had taken place. . The bloody floor, which had been thor= oughly washed, could not be cleansed of its crimson color. The imprints of a blood-stained hand could plainly be seen. Specks of blood were also plain on the ceiling, which is about ten feet | There were spots of | above the floor. blood on the wall and on the | the victim’s room. Every article of the victim's ap- parel was carted in the patrol wagon to the Hall of Justice. The remainder of the stuff found in the house will be taken away later. In the afternoon the crowd about the house was largely augmented. There was mu‘h pushing and jostling to get to th& front for a good view. Stairways and windows in the neigh- borhood that would afford a view- point were sought. When the patrol wagon left the scene with its load of evidence a crowd followed to the hall- and struggled desperately to \fltness the unloading. door of ROOMS ROBBED IN- THE AINSLEY.— Complaint was made at the City Hall police | station yesterday that a room thief had made | his presence fit in the Alnsley, a_rooming- hcuse at 620 Turk street.. The apartme; o ¢, W, Kyle, H. B. Thoma# and A. G. ve robbed. ) About $70 worth of jewelry ma mé money were taken. D0REGENINE L LT HY BUY A TOPCOAT AT ALL”"? asks the man who feels that he can manage to pull through until settled summer weather comes—by wearing his winter over- coat when it is very cold and going about without any overgarment at all the rest of BETWEEN POWELL AND MASON STREETS————— About Men’s Clothes asks the “aren’t so bad.” a few: UWHY BUY A NEW SPRING SUIT"' light the garments he hung up last fall when his winter suit came home, and finds out they The |~ That ired Feeling The chronic condition ‘of thousands of people at this season of the year, who feel that they are sick and who will be told by any physician that they are in the worst possible condition to withstand an attack of any of the now prevalent diseases that prove fatal to those who' are not physically strong— For that tired feeling, which means impoverished ‘blood and weakened nerv- ous system, take weak. great spring medicine. relieved, There is no longer takes the place of insomnia. better. " A trial quickly proves the wonderful efficacy of this Lassitude and languor disappear. Good appetite returns; dyspepsia and-indigestion are at once a tendency to scrofula, pim- ples and other symptoms of impure blood. ‘Healthful sleep Before the first bottle is gone one feels better, looks better, and eats better and works Hood’s Sarsaparilla Makes People Well. | - Says Mrs. Helen L. Thompson, 582 Main St., Lewiston, Me., whose por- ~} trait appears here: *‘ Hood’s Sarsaparilla is like an old friend in our family of seven (five children), and as such I recolnmend it. My little girl had scarlet | writes as follows: Hood’s Sarsaparilla This greatest of all remedies is Nature’s tonic. It makes new blood and new nerve tissues; it resuscitates the tired-out system; it, invigorates the It makes the sick well again. fever when she was two years oM. Hood’s Sarsaparilla came %o the rescue then. When she got better she caught the whooping cough. Hood’s Sarsapa- rilla kept her strength up. ’l"oyun performed ; the doctor said she couldn’t live. She was 8 very sick child. We worked over her faithfully and as soon as we got & movement of the bowels we knew there was hope. I began to give her a few drops of Hood’s Sarsaparilla in water. In s few daye she was sitting up. She had s good appetite, and gained rapidly. It seemed almost a miracle when she was so near the grave. She is now healthy and siyong, better than ever before.”” 8. L. Hotchkiss of Wallingford, Conn., “An eruption of scrofulous nature had been troubling me for several years. My cure has been a wonderful relief, for I cannot begin to tell the distress of mind and body that I went through. After enduring this trouble for a long time and trying many remedies and courses of treatment to effect a cure, with no results except seeming to grow worse, I was advised to try Hood’s Sarsaparilla. Almost from the beginning of my use of this medicine a change for the better was noticeable. The #ores began to lose their fiery red and became pale, decreased in size and gradually disappeared. My genaral bealth, which was very poor, improved wonderfully, and my former extreme nervous condition changed for the better. I am now in perfect health. To say that I am thankful for the wonderful healing qualities of Hood’s Sarsaparilla would be speaking in the mildest terms."” ‘The Best Spring Medicine « ouumonoonomomomum .m“ J. J. GILDEA CO.| ==———=THE BIG NEW STORE—— 1028-1030 Market Street I man who has just brought to Reasons enough. Here are | | % < DO T TR | the time. You should buy a topcoat: . FIRST—For Appearance’s Sake. Like a linen collar (instead of celluloid) it betok- ens taste, tells of culture, bespeaks prosperity and says you amount to something and are getting on in the world. SECOND—For Comfort’s Sake. 'Tis a case of swelte shiver if you alternate ‘between a winter overcoat and none at all. Most days you'll get along well enough, but the chilly night air will prove its penetrating power. THIRD—For Your Health’s Sake. It will save vou from many a cold due to unneces- sary exposure and spare you big doc- tors’ bills. FOURTH—For Expediency’s Sake. You'll have to have 2 fall overcoat anyhow, and the spring overcoat becomes a- fall overcoat simply by change of name —no change in styles occur in mid- year so far as men’s lightweight over- garments are concerned. In this connection we will take the last few lines in this column to say that at “The Big Store” the largest line of Topcoats and other lightweight overgarments in California awaits the coming of the discriminating men who want the apparel that is absolutely correct in style and bordering upon the highest custom tailoring standard of excellence—Prices $10 to $30. cisco 'has FIRST—For Appearance’s Sake. “color and four men out of five will SECOND—For Your Feeling’s Sake. Tis not - he wears new clothes—'tis rather a sense of security—the feeling that he . pearances go—that no unexpected cail THIRD—For Your Health’s Sake.- " ‘We take thelast few lines of this column to | tell you-what you' doubtless know " al that the largest lethmg house in. San an— Suits at a range.in prices from $10. ‘to $35— something to meet your ultimate warits at-a price you will pay ‘with cheerful .lmity when youmhowmhbetmthcym(qr tha'_ The styles are different. Gray is the popular spot your old suit as a last year's product by the length of the coat, the width of the lapels, the shape of the shoulders, the cut of the vest, the set of the trousers and the general slxmp— siness of the cloth unless the suit is of this season’s creation. pride in most cases that makesa man walk more erect and feel better when is ready for anything so far as ap- . or chance meeting may causehim em- barrassment—a degree of complacent self-sufficiency “that counts for. a lot in business—a sort of ‘insurance pol- icy against humiliation. It goes without saying that old clothes hold in the meshes of the fabric much of dust; €ase -and grime—a feature which''is not conducive- to the most desirable bodily eondmops»“ the finest line of correct Spamg. £ THINK WONAN PARTICIPATED N THE PLOT | 1 et Comlmled From Page 25, (,olumn 1. ! of the date of the murder. The detectives postponed a more | minute inspection of the premises. thinking that there was a chance of somebody’s returning. They hid themselves in a rear room and waited. ! Just as the first light of dawn streamed through the windows of the house footsteps were heard descend- ing the stairway that led to the place. The door was opened and closed again. The three detectives rushed from their place of concealment and found a startled woman, who held in her arms a baby. It was Mrs. Torturiti. She was quickly taken to the Hall of | Justice and at once put through a, course of questioning. Detectives Taylor and Harrison | went to the scene of the killing and waited with Detective Ed Gibson. About noon or a little after Sam Pos- sofrumi pushed his way througl a| little crowd congregated in front ot' the house and tried to enter it. “I look for Pietro.” he announced. i POSSOFUMI ARRESTED. | He was ingtantly seized by Taylor | and Harrison. On being' searched there was found on his person a mur- derous dirk. “I carry it because I am afraid,” he explained. *There is much Kkilling in this part of town.” Possofumi was also locked up the City Prison. By a slip of the tongue the prison- | er let out a statement that contra-, dicts entirely the woman’s story told to Captain Burnett. “I saw Pletro and his wife Thurs- day night,” he declared. “I saw my husband at 11 oclockl \Wednesdly night—never since then,” | nuerted Mrs. Torturiti. ‘With her pretty, smiling baby in her arms the woman sat and an- swered. with evident reluctance, the questions put to her by the detectives. Her rather pretty face wore some-| thing between a scowl and the look of | a hunted animal. This is the story she told in broken in E“fl h: “My husband is Pietro Torturiti, a cnn maker employed by the American Can Company. i each occasion and went away in the | M off suspicion. The womarn gtive the following de- | He is 26| sceription. of her husband: years old and a native of Sicily. He is about five feet four-inches in height and weighs 140 poiunds. He talks English well, always in a loud tone of voice. When she saw him on Wednesday night he wore dark clothes and a soft felt hat. He was formerly a section boss on the Missouri Pacific road. In a storeroom in the rear of the house the detectives found a bundle of rope corresponding to the cord that was tied about the trunk. A revolver with a holster that eould be concealed be- reath'the coat was found. It was load- ed. The holster arrangement is such as is used by men handling weapons habitually. The service stripes on the uniform coat worn by Torturiti when the tin- type was taken would indicate that he had seen service during the Spanish American war. Torturi's Wik, e Continued From Page 25, Column 1. | | startled manner when she spied me and | seemed very much afraid. Of course, I did not know that anything was wrong, so 1 simply passed the time of i day with her as she opened the door | to go in. “Her husband always went to work before that time, so I knew she was net out buying anything for the morn- | ing meal. She used the key to open the door and I thought that was rather strange, likely she would lock up the house when about to run an errand around the corner. “I cannot imagine what the woman was doing in the place, but:there is| no question in my mind that she was dispatched there- by her husband, with whom she stayed during the night. She came up Green street on | | same direction. “Her carrying & bundle on each oc: casion was’ probably a ruse to \hardl She was very careful | to look around her each time before entering the gate and went In and left the place very rapidly, as though she were afraid some one was watch- ing her.” UPSETS HER STORY. This evidence completely upsets the story told by the woman that she . never visited the house after leaving | it on Wednesday night, shortly_after 7 o'clock. 1t also establishes beyond a doubt the fact that the woman knew ! all about the crime, for upon entering the room of death it ecertainly vul riecessary for her to gaze upon the blood stains and other evidences of | “On Wednesday night I cooked the ;the orime. evenln.‘ meal after 6. My husband took some food in to Vilardo and we. ate ours in the kitchen. “About half past 7 I went out to 'take a walk with my baby. I came ,back about half past 9 and went to’ . ! bed right away and fell asleep. It is very likely that Mrs. Torturiti did the cleaning up at the house and | that the bundles she carried contained i the whitewash and the brush with! which the place was renovated. The‘ landlord had not seen the husband of | qthe woman enter the house lmce, from the fact that it was not | dort of individual. He was known as a steady workman and appeared to be of a higher class than his fellow laborers. ‘He never spoke of his do- mestic_affairs and his wife was seen but seldom in the neighborhood. MANY YOUNGSTERS ATTEND THE SPORTSMEN'S SHOW Children Are Given ..nner and a Good Time at the Forest, Fish and Game Exhibition. A happy lot of children attended the Forest, Fish and Game Exhibition yes- terday at the Mechanics' Pavilion. More than 1200 youngsters gathered in the spacious building to see nature on a small scale. The children were inter- ested. in the birds and animals and | many of them would have liked to have paddled in the water where the fish vere. It was children's day, and they owned the building. A dinner was { served them and they ate with relish the different luxuries served In the evening a large crowd of spec- tators was present. A select pr gramme of music was rendered by the band. A special feature of the evening was the wrestling bouts between repr sentatives of various ciubs. Flycasting also attracted a good deal of attentior To-day will be laborers’ day, and | many special features will be offered. The admission will be 25 cents and th management is preparing to handie a large crowd. —_——— BROKER ELLIS DISTURBED PEACE.—Chester B. Kllis._a broker, w offices {n the Examiner buiiding, was arreste | by Policeman D. Murphy on O Farrell stre -t last night for disturbing the peace. locked up fh the C engaged in an alte at the Hi He Hall police station. ion with the night p e e O A penny In the slot machine in Vien na supplies post eard gramophone discs of the operator’s voice. | ADVERTISEMENTS. ‘Uricsol, the only cure for iRhev‘matism. If you are suffering from rheuma- tism there is a chance for you to be- come absolutely cured. Yon may }cnre yourself and do-it quickly if you { will lay aside your prejudice and skep- ticism. Every San Francisco dtu.msz sells Uncsol the well-known remedy, and we hueby authorize them to guaran- tee a cure. Uricsol cures rheumatism in the only possible way it can be cured. Uric Acid and Urates are the cause of Rhegmatism. These are deposited in the tissues, blood vessels and joints 1 “About half past 11 my husband | Wednesday, so it would appear that of the body. ‘ came into the bedroom. I asked him | the woman did the cleaning. where Vilardo was and he told me to , mind my own business. i "I was always very much afraid of my hn-hnn;cnd 1 did not ask him anything else. He went out and I | Torturiti always carried a large amount of money on his person and he was “wont to" spend a deal of it in | the neighboring saloons. It was. h!s custom to drop in every morning be- have not seen him since. 'Park. I went there with the baby and ’“lm. ~Bat my husband did not ‘come.” - When l_natflon!d as to whether her ‘husband was jeal o{m rdo, she declared that she did t think so. She also insisted that she knew of no trouble between her husband and Vil- “But Thursday he sent word to me | to meet him at Washington Square ! pther drink. | time in the saloons of fore going to work and again at m‘m. Jjust before supj e passed much of his of the neighbor- M after working” hours and was nown as a liberal spender. 'l'he neighbors knew Torturiti as a religious man and many times he used| taining to discuss divine. " He nw- seeméd to speak with garding church matters and gave l:h “listeners the idea that he was a pieus 3 . he would take an- . These deposits must be dissolved neaol is" a solvent of these ‘and nes up the system, stimulates the kiduey.. liver and: bowels -and thus them from the system. Uricesol is h-rnlcs.-, and no injuri- ous results can ly come to any Mlymn'bo m‘usto-dzyiorbookln con- recommended diet for rheu- ,“%ICSOL CHEMICAL €O, . Los Angeles,