# Washington Times, 14 October 1927, page 3: Brothers die in rum war

Canonical: https://mobfiles.org/clippings/clip-washington-times-1927-10-14-p3/

An International News Service dispatch from Cleveland: the brothers Joseph and John Lonardo, described as sugar dealers who supplied bootleggers, were killed in a barber shop the night before.

Page 3 of the Washington Times "General News Section" for Friday, 14 October 1927, a page dominated by photographs of Princess Ileana of Romania. In the right-hand column is "Brothers Die in Rum War," credited to the International News Service and datelined Cleveland, October 14.

It reports that police were seeking the gunmen in the murder "last night" of Joseph and John Lonardo, brothers, in a barber shop. It calls them sugar dealers who, detectives said, supplied bootleggers with sugar for making liquor, says they had considerable authority in "underworld" circles, and says police believed they had many enemies among local bootleggers. It adds that Joe "is said to have kept a bodyguard on most occasions."

The account is the wire service's, from police sources. The same dispatch ran in the [South Bend News-Times of 15 October 1927](/clippings/clip-south-bend-news-times-1927-10-15-p38/). The page names no suspect and no street.

## Sources

- Library of Congress, Chronicling America: https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84026749/1927-10-14/ed-1/?sp=3
- Library of Congress OCR text of this page: https://tile.loc.gov/text-services/word-coordinates-service?segment=/service/ndnp/dlc/batch_dlc_pakula_ver02/data/sn84026749/00222254449/1927101401/0752.xml&format=alto_xml&full_text=1