CROOKS IN LUXURY.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18618, 14 July 1930, Page 7

CROOKS IN LUXURY.

GUN PLAY IN NEW YORK. Crime in the underworlds of New York and Chicago has afforded most stirring dramas of recent times. The ghosts of Arnold Rothstein, the millionaire Broadway gambler; of Frankie Yale, the Brooklyn gang leader; and of Frank Marlow, the Broadway gangster, have risen from their graves to demand that their murderers shall be brought to justice. For months picked men of the New York secret service have been living in the underworld, disguised as bootleggers, drug sellers, and thieves in an effort to trace the murderers of these three men. As a result of their investigations a new and sinister figure has arisen before the eyes of the American public. The whole country to-day is talking of Ciro Terranova, an artichoke dealer in Harlem Market, who is accused bv the police of hiring assassins to kill Marlow and Yale for £4OO. Terranova’s reply is, “All lies.” Under interrogation before Police Commissioner Whalen, Inspector Donovan, of the New York police, testified: “About twenty months ago Terranova employed a man from the Chicago underworld to ‘knock off’ two gangsters in New York who were interfering with his business.” Tense silence fell on the court room as Commissioner Whalen halt rising from his chair, asked: “Who were-those gangsters?" Donovan replied coolly: “Frankie Yale and Frank Marlow.”

Donovan’s startling story revealed that under co er of absolute secrecy, the search for Marlow’s and Yale's murderers had been proceeding for months.

Terranova is regarded by the police as one of those men living on the borderline of the underworld who rose to riches and prominence soon after the advent of prohibition. Thirteen years ago he had difficulty in raising £IOO bail. To-day he is reputed to be a dollar millionaire. Describing the man. Commissioner Whalen said: “When he enters the room it is like a king coming in.” To visitors to his luxurious home Terranova is an affable host, yet the police declare that he is more powerful than they are themselves, one of a group of men who have their own law and enforce it with gun and bombs. The evidence gained by his men has sent Commissioner Whalen to Chicago in search of a gunman who is reported to be the slayer of Marlow and Yale. His visit coincided with one of the worst killings in the city ,when three gangsters were shot to death in a battle with a detective squad. It was the first bloodshed in an effort by Chicago gunmen, impoverished by lean days in the beer and gambling trades, to gain control of the labour unions. A Pretty Blonde. When caught, one of the gangsters, named Wilson, emptied his revolver and cried to the detectives, “Give us a break. My gun is empty.” Sergeant O’Connell shouted back, “Give you hell. I’m reloading.” In a minute Wilson fell dead, while the body of another gunman toppled beside him. Chicago is the home of some of the strongest labour unions in the United States, and their property holdings run into millions of pounds. The rich prize has been attracting the attention of gunmen since beer ceased to be profitable. Into this whirl of crime a pretty blonde, Ruth Orloski, aged 18. has entered, and has related to the New York police the bitter reality of being a bandit’s sweetheart. She was arrested on a charge of taking part in a Brooklyn hold-up. She admitted three months’ banditry in New Jersey, which ended, she said when she was informed that she would be killed by her men companions for knowing too much. “They had me marked,” she told the police, “but they could never get me into a motor car to take me for a ride.”