"GRAFT" AND MURDER

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15061, 2 August 1912, Page 7

"GRAFT" AND MURDER

ANOTHER MAN SHOT DEAD POLICE AND GAMBLING HOUSES. £480,000 A YEAR IN BRIBES. By Telegraph.—Press Association.—Copyright. New York, July 31. James Vehella, proprietor of the Dante Cafe, was shot dead this morning. He was attacked in DistrictAttorney Whitman's office. It is believed that the murder was committed as a revenge for the betrayal of " Dago Frank" Cirofico, a member of the automobile party which killed Hermann Rosenthal. William Lorenzo, a notorious "gun man," and Albert Contento, have been arrested. Lorenzo is believed to have been delegated to murder Verella. Sworn statements have been made to the effect that the police have collected 2,400,000 dollars (about £480,000) annually for the "protection" of gambling houses. A sensational scandal. When fcho complete story of the shooting of Hermann Rosenthal is made known it is likely to astonish not only New-York, but all America. So says a cablegram published in the Australian papers last week. The. message adds:'—"District-Attorney Whitman believes that ho will bo ablo to prove that'th© police and even those higher up were behind the plot to silence Rosenthal before he could make any further gambling revelations. Harry Vallon, who was on© of the occupants of tho motor car in which the murderers drove to and from the scene of tho crime, and who surrendered himself to the police, has mado certain disclosures, which go to show that Jack Rose, the man 'by whom tho automobile is alleged to have been hired, "is a close friend of PoliceLieutenant Becker, the silent partner in Rosenthal's gambling house, who has been arrested on a charge of murdering Rosenthal. With the' arrest of others implicated in tho shooting, the Public Prosecutor expects to learn enough to further involvo Rose, and by so doing to force him to make a full confession that will reveal those who were at the bottom of the tragedy. Warrants have already been issued for tho arrest of Dago Frank and four others."