PRINTING THE BAD MONEY
"Calichio was up at an early hour and set to work retouching the
two-dollar American note plates. He fixed the plates on wood blocks,
made the press ready and got the right impression, prepared the ink
and struck off proofs on several kinds of paper to see the effect of
the ink and get the correct shade. He also prepared some chemicals
with which to dampen the paper and give a darker shade. Having
succeeded in getting the right shade of green Calichio explained that
the color was the same as on the genuine notes and that all they
needed now was the paper.
"Cecala then said he would leave immediately and have the paper
shipped forthwith. Turning to me Cecala gave instructions for me to be
busy only at feeding the press. Don Peppe was to direct the job. I to
obey the latter in every detail. Cecala then took the proofs and put
them in his pocket, saying that he would show them to Ignazio and Don
Piddu (Lupo and Morello) and mark the difference between this and the
first job, which was mine.
"Two days later Nick Sylvester came and brought with him a suit-case
full of paper which he gave to Calichio saying:
"'To-morrow Ignazio will come to see how the work is going along. In
the meantime you can proceed with the work and print. I will remain to
help you.'
"When Lupo arrived the next morning in company with Cecala and Cina
they all came up to the work room. After examining the work they
praised Calichio, telling him that they ought to give him a gold
medal. As for me, I was deserved of a dirty, leather medal, the
bandits hinted.
"Turning to me Lupo said, 'This homely Calabrian doesn't even deserve
to be looked at. The work he did should have been _burned on his
head_.'
"I did not reply, but played the simpleton.
"After examining the work Lupo turned to Uncle Vincent and said:
"'Uncle Vic--guess what's happened?'
"'What?'
"'Petrosino was killed in Italy.'
"'Honestly?'
"'Honestly. The papers are talking about it.'
"'I said it,' continued Uncle Vincent, 'that if Petrosino went to
Italy they would kill him.'
"'Who was the hero? He deserves a medal,' said Cecala.
"'And where have they killed him?' continued Uncle Vincent.
"'In Palermo.'
"'Then it means that it was _well done_,' said Uncle Vincent,
significantly.
"'Certainly. The way it was done it could never fail,' said Lupo.
"'And----,' Cecala said. 'This was death becoming him. How many sons
of mothers he has condemned for nothing.'
"Hearing all this I asked:
"'Who is this Petrosino?'
"'He was the head of the secret police in New York,' replied Cecala.
'A homely man! Worse than the Bubonic Plague.'
"'I never heard of him.'
"'You will never meet him,' said Cecala dryly, the others grinning.
"'Then it was successful?' continued Uncle Vincent.
"'Certainly,' replied Lupo. 'It could not be successful in New York
because he guarded his hide. Here he toted a revolver in his coat
pocket and was guarded by two policemen a short distance behind him.'
"'It is a good example for the policemen,' continued Uncle Vincent.
'No one will now dare to go to Palermo. There they will find only sure
death.'
"Cina did not talk any because he was intent on spreading the
counterfeit notes out on the garret floor. When he came downstairs to
the workroom, however, he said:
"'As soon as we can we must celebrate for joy; just now we will be
content with a glass of wine.'
"They all went downstairs and sat at a table conversing in low voices
and I could not understand what they said because the press made a
noise and interfered with my hearing.
"I and Uncle Vincent continued to work at the press under Calichio's
directions. Sylvester would take the notes as they were printed and
spread them out on the floor in the garret to dry. Bernardo was
stationed outside armed with rifle and revolver to guard the house and
to 'spot' any person who might pass or prowl about the premises.
"In the afternoon of that day Lupo, Cecala, and Cina went outside and
had some sport trying out their revolvers against the trees. When they
returned Lupo asked Calichio how long it would take to print the ten
thousand two-dollar bills. About twenty days was Calichio's estimate.
"Lupo then told Calichio that he would leave the plant, but would
return at the end of the month and bring plates for five-dollar
American notes. He addressed Calichio as 'dear Don Peppe' and told him
to be prepared for the work and to take particular pains with the
five-dollar notes, because he intended sending some of them to Italy.
"'Have no doubts,' replied Calichio. 'I have never done any work that
was useless, and you know it. My work has always been perfect.'
"'Bravo, Don Peppe, we know that you are a professor at it,' said
Cecala.
"That same night about six P. M. Cecala, Lupo, and Cina went away,
leaving me with Calichio, Uncle Vincent, Sylvester, and Bernardo.
"During that month (March, 1909) we worked without interruption
printing the two-dollar notes. About the 27th, the first twenty
thousand dollars of the counterfeit two-dollar notes were ready and
were turned over to Cina and Sylvester, who were to bring them to New
York.
"After this first job of Calichio's workmanship had been turned over,
on the last Sunday in March Lupo returned in company with Cina,
Sylvester and Giglio, who brought the plates for the five-dollar notes
and about twenty thousand sheets of paper upon which to print the
additional money.
"Upon receiving the plates Calichio looked them over attentively and
said that they were copper plates and not zinc, and that there was
need of slight retouching. He detected several lines that were not
shown in the photograph on the face of the note. These lines needed to
be etched into the plates in the picture, which represented a farmer
and an old man with a woman and a dog.
"Lupo explained to Calichio that Cecala was on the road about New
York, Brooklyn and Hoboken, selling the two-dollar notes, but that as
soon as he finished up this work he would return to the stone house
and oversee the work there.
"Calichio prepared the press, fixed the inks, and printed the first
proofs for the green side of the five-dollar notes. These were
pronounced very good by Lupo and Uncle Vincent and they ordered that
fifteen or twenty thousand of them be printed. Whatever paper was left
was to be used for the two-dollar notes, which were very good and
easily disposed of.
"On the night of the 29th, or 30th of March, 1909, Lupo left in
company with Uncle Vincent and Cina. Before leaving, however,
instructions were given to Bernardo, Giglio and Sylvester to count the
notes printed daily so that none could be unaccounted for and sold
into circulation. The fear that cheating might be practiced was
evidently in Lupo's mind.
"We had been working about a week on the green side of the five-dollar
notes when on April 5th, or 6th, Cina came to the stone house and told
us to suspend the work and start in on the two-dollar notes, because
there was a large demand for them from Boston, Buffalo and Chicago,
where customers were anxiously awaiting a new supply. Calichio
immediately got the press ready to print another ten thousand of the
two-dollar notes.
"It was at this time that I decided not to continue the work and left
the press because I was not spoken to but ignored entirely. Even
Sylvester and Giglio called me by an obscene name and referred to me
in the most distasteful language, horrible to hear because of the
profanity. I told Cina I wanted him to write to Cecala and tell him to
send me sufficient money for my fare to New York. At this Cina
answered in the Sicilian dialect:
"'You are waiting for me to blow your brains out. Now that we are at
the point where we can earn some money, you get sassy. Here you are
dealing with gentlemen; otherwise, by this time you would be dead. Go
ahead and work. No more of this fussing.'
"Then turning to Sylvester and Giglio, Cina continued: '(Piciotti)
Boys, watch this Calabrian, and if he don't want to work, shoot him
and make a hole for him in the farm.'
"After hearing this I felt like a whipped dog and kept my mouth
closed. I went over to the press and started in to work. Calichio came
over to me and said:
"'Don Antonio, look out. Don't act this way with these people, because
they are all of the (Mala-vita) Mafia and will do you harm in an
instant. As long as you are among them you must obey orders, as I do,
using prudence.'
"Now it happened that for two weeks Calichio had not received his
weekly salary and he became nervous for this reason. One day, when I
did not want to print on wet paper, he dressed and went away. I,
thinking that he had just gone out, stopped working and waited for him
to return. But at night, when Sylvester, Giglio and Bernardo saw that
Calichio did not return, _they threatened me with death_. Sylvester
pointed a loaded revolver at me saying that he would dig my eyes out;
Giglio, taking an axe in his hand, said he wanted to cut my head off,
but Caterina intervened and the threatening stopped. Sylvester left
the stone house to carry the news to New York.
"Three days went by without any work being done, then Calichio
returned in company with Sylvester and Cina. Cina handed me a note
from Cecala which informed me that I must obey Calichio's order or
suffer terrible consequences. I worked on against my will under
Calichio's orders."