EVADING THE GANG IN VAIN
"On June 6th I rented some rooms at No. 171 Thompson Street and paid
for a month in advance. I then went to the barber shop to find Cecala.
I told him of hiring the rooms and that I needed a deposit to have the
gas turned on. He told me that he would look out for everything in a
day or so when he had the time. He showed a receipt for my goods,
which had been shipped from Highland the day before and which would
soon arrive, he said. He gave me five dollars with which to pay the
charges on my furniture when it would arrive. When I asked him how I
was to get food, he handed me a card and said that I was to go to the
address and say that he sent me and that provisions would be furnished
me. On the card was D. Milone, No. 235 East Ninety-seventh Street.
"'Will I get what I want there?'
"'Certainly,' Cecala said. 'Just mention my name and all will be well
with you there.'
"After arranging with an express company to have my goods taken from
the dock to the Thompson Street rooms, I went to the Milone address
and asked for Cecala.
"'Who is this Cecala?' inquired a short man of ruddy complexion and
stout face.
"'Why, don't you know him?' I asked. 'He gave me this address where I
was to come and buy groceries.'
"'Have you inquired in the bank downstairs?'
"'No.'
"'Go and see.'
"I went down to the bank of one De Luca and found a barrel containing
groceries addressed to Luigi Cosentino. This I had brought to my rooms
in Thompson Street.
"'You must pay sixty cents,' said the banker, 'right away.' And Cecala
paid the money for me.
"Going upstairs again Cecala said in the presence of Giglio and
Sylvester:
"'Don Antonio, we must continue the work. Not in that place (the stone
house), but in another farm that has been rented by Giglio and that
is very far from Highland. We will not work any more with the same
press because it is not very good as to impression. We must buy a new
press, which Calichio is negotiating for now, a new model.'
"'I will not come again,' I replied, 'because I have found work as a
compositor and I am to go to work to-morrow.'
"'Don't begin to make trouble. You know all our secrets now and we
can't let you go.'
"'But why don't you let Calichio continue the work?'
"'Calichio is no good at the press. You know of what he is capable.'
"'I cannot go,' I repeated.
"'Listen, Don Antonio, I promise you that you will not work much.
Print at least the other ten-thousand sheets of paper for two-dollar
notes and the work will be completed. Then we will suspend operations
for the summer, and will begin again in the Fall.'
"'Mr. Cecala, I will return to print the paper that is left, but you
must give me, at the beginning of August, $400 because I want to
return to Italy; then I will come back to New York in November. Are
you satisfied?'
"'Have no doubts as to that. By the first two weeks of August I will
give you $500 and not $400, because by that time I will have sold all
the money. But will you return to America?'
"'Yes, because I am going to Italy only to arrange family affairs.'
"Calichio now arrived and said that he had found the party who wanted
to sell the press, and he suggested that I go and see the man. At this
juncture Giglio interrupted to say that the press, which we had been
using, had been broken up and thrown into the woods on the farm that
had just been rented in his name for the new location of the plant.
"'But,' put in Calichio, 'is that farm a place that is at all likely
to be suspected?'
"'Certainly not,' said Giglio, 'it is far from Highland, about three
hours over the road, and is situated on the Hudson River. It is a
frame house standing by itself so that in working there will be no
noise heard by neighbors. And there is no road where people pass by
the house.'
"'You mean,' Cecala interrupted, 'that you can work without fear of
being disturbed?'
"'Not even the flies will disturb us.'
"'Good,' said Cecala, turning to me. 'Go and see this Riso (the
pressman) and see if he really wants to sell the press.'
"'Why should I go and not some one else?'
"'You are of the trade and know whether there are any defects.'
"'And if he asks me who I am, what shall I answer?'
"'Tell him you are Cosentino and have a shop on One Hundred and
Fortieth Street.'
"'Why don't you come with me?'
"'No,' said Cecala, 'I will wait here.'
"'It would be better that you come along. Two heads are better than
one.'
"Cecala was persuaded and together we went to the printing shop to
look over the presses. Riso, the pressman, said that he wanted to sell
the press because he had not enough work to keep it occupied and was
short fifty dollars to pay off the mortgage. He explained that in
order to sell it he must first get permission from the factory people,
who held the mortgage. He bought it about eight months previously.
"A price of $85 was agreed to.
"'But,' queried Riso, 'what do you need the press for?'
"'For a printing shop,' I replied.
"'And have you a shop now?'
"'Yes.'
"'Where?'
"I gave him the One Hundred and Fortieth Street address suggested by
Cecala before we entered the printing shop.
"Riso assured me that the press was first class and would turn out
fine work.
"On June 10th, the next day, the press was paid for and carted off in
a covered wagon. I had taken the press apart without arousing
suspicion that it was to be taken on a long journey. The parts were
taken off because of the danger of leaving them on the press body
while in shipment. On the sides of the closed wagon was the name of
Antonio Armato, Bakery. The man who drove it was introduced to me by
Giglio as his godfather. Giglio explained that the press was to be
carted on godfather's wagon because he had been unable to get an
express wagon at the moment.
"In order to keep up the bluff before Riso I said to Giglio:
"'Well, it is just as well. You know where my shop is and can have
this man take the press there. I will remain downtown and attend to
other matters while you take the press uptown.' Cecala squinted at me
admiringly.
"On the 13th of June Cecala informed me that I was to be ready to go
to Highland at six o'clock the next morning. I was to go to Cina's
house and remain there a day, he said, and then I would be taken to
the new farm. He told me that the press had been shipped and taken to
the house by Sylvester, who had returned to New York. Cecala also said
that he had given Calichio ten dollars with which to pay the fares and
that I was to meet Don Peppe (Calichio) at his Jones Street house
early the next morning and then board the train in company with him.
Money would be forwarded to me as soon as I reached Highland; Cecala
had none with him at the present.
"'I hope you will not treat me as you did before,' I said. 'Promise to
pay and not pay.'
"'Have no doubt. I will take in $200 to-night from a man in Brooklyn,
and will send you ten dollars by Giglio.'
"Cecala said Giglio was in New York then at the house of his
(Giglio's) brother-in-law in Jackson Street. This brother-in-law had
married one of Cina's sisters, but he knew nothing about the
counterfeiting scheme.
"At five o'clock in the morning of June 14th I went to Calichio's
house and found him packing a suit-case with inks and plates. One of
the sets I remember was the Bank of Montreal design with a baby on the
green side, marvelously clear zinc plates. Calichio told me they were
to be used for making the new Canadian five-dollar notes.
"'When are they to be printed?' I asked.
"'When we get to the new farm.'
"I told Calichio that I certainly would not print any of them at this
season and he suggested that they probably were to be printed in
November. He said:
"'They will probably be printed in November, at the beginning of the
winter season, for now the waters are troubled. The police is making
arrests daily.'
"He placed the plates in the suit-case and together we went to
Weehawken Ferry and arrived in Highland at 11 A. M. There found
Peppino waiting for us at the station with a carriage. He drove to his
brother's house (Cina's). There we found Uncle Vincent and Bernardo,
the others having gone to Poughkeepsie on business and left word that
they would return by evening. After lunch I played with Cina's
children while Calichio, Uncle Vincent, Bernardo and Peppino locked
themselves into a room for a conference. About 8 P. M. Salvatore Cina
returned from Poughkeepsie with Sylvester and immediately ordered his
brother to prepare the horse and carriage and take us to the 'Third'
farm."