Bismarck Tribune, 14 September 1928, page 2: Racketeers' torch kills six as gangster 'war' hits City of Cleveland

Page 2 of the Bismarck Tribune for Friday, 14 September 1928. The banner reads “Racketeers’ Torch Kills Six as Gangster ‘War’ Hits City of Cleveland,” and the article beneath it, headed “Garage Fired, Entire Family Is Sacrificed,” is by James P. Kirby, introduced as the eighth of a series on racketeering written for the Tribune and NEA Service, datelined Cleveland. The headline was read from the scan; it is not isolated in the OCR.

The article describes racketeering in Cleveland under Safety Director Barry and says that since January 1927 there had been thirteen murders of well-known underworld characters, “including Big Joe and John Lonardo and Lawrence Lupo, recognized rulers in the liquor traffic,” with no conviction and no arrest. It says the liquor racket “thrives and leaves in its wake a long list of gang murders.” The Cleveland detective chief, Inspector Cody, is also quoted.

This is a feature writer’s account. The phrase “recognized rulers” is his, and this archive does not adopt it. The previous installment, on Detroit, is the Bismarck Tribune of 13 September 1928.