Wilmington Evening Journal, 13 March 1909, page 1: Slain by the Black Hand: Petrosino killed in Palermo
SLAIN BY THE BLACK HAND: Chief of Italian Detectives of New York City Assassinated in Palermo; WAS UNEARTHING EVIDENCE AGAINST GANG
- Paper
- Evening Journal (Wilmington, Del.)
- Date
- 1909-03-13
- Page
- Page 1
- Headline
- SLAIN BY THE BLACK HAND: Chief of Italian Detectives of New York City Assassinated in Palermo; WAS UNEARTHING EVIDENCE AGAINST GANG
- Rights
- A United States newspaper published in 1930 or earlier. Public domain in the United States. The Library of Congress serves the page from Chronicling America.
Front page of the Evening Journal, Wilmington, Delaware, Saturday, 13 March 1909. The headline reads “Slain by the Black Hand: Chief of Italian Detectives of New York City Assassinated in Palermo,” with the deck “Was Unearthing Evidence Against Gang.” The headline was confirmed on the page image.
The United Press dispatch, datelined Rome, 13 March, says Joseph Petrosino, chief of the Italian detectives of the New York police, was shot dead the night before in a Palermo square “by agents of the Black Hand Society, according to messages just received from Palermo.” It says he had been sent to Italy to gather evidence, that he drew his revolver and exchanged shots with his attackers, and that the Palermo police believed he was killed for papers he carried.
The attribution to the Black Hand is the dispatch’s, from first reports, and is not verified here. The page is filed as a record of the first-day coverage. The Detroit Times page of the same date is filed separately.