Camorra ties (p. 212): “Sensation over Attack,” Kingston Daily Freeman, June 19, 1917, 6.
stuffed in a barrel (p. 212): “Barrel Murder Mystery,” New York Times, April 20, 1903; David Critchley, The Origin of Organized Crime, New York: Routledge, 2009. The Camorra supposedly began at a three-man card game under a tree in Seville. When one of the men lost, badly, he pulled a knife. But one of the other men said that blood must be conserved among brothers, not shed. The men made a pact, kissed and embraced, and went their separate ways. Thus the Camorra was born, under the tree of knowledge.
“two more girls may be killed” (p. 212): “Girl Charges Men,” New-York Tribune, June 20, 1917, 16.
“have been for nothing” (p. 213): Julius J. Kron with Isabel Stephens, “My Encounter with a White-Slave Ring,” Mysterious Crimes, New York: True Story, 1934, 147.
“to make things hum” (p. 213): “Personal and Impersonal,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 20, 1917, 6.
“memorial to Ruth Cruger” (p. 213): “Two Policemen at the Bedside,” New York Herald, June 21, 1917, 3.
“save her honor” (p. 213): “Popular Fund Urged,” New York Evening World, June 20, 1917, 1; “His Statue Memorial,” Indiana Gazette, July 11, 1917, 12; “Cruger Memorial,” New-York Tribune, June 24, 1917, 6. By July, Onorio Ruotolo, an Italian sculptor, had begun work on a monument to Ruth depicting a figure being threatened by a coiled serpent. “I could not bring the child back to life, but I could make the memorial to show the father that the great bulk of the kindly Italian people feel his suffering,” said Ruotolo.
“is steadily improving” (p. 214): “Light on Cocchi’s Relations,” New York Evening World, June 21, 1917.
“passing the buck” (p. 214): “Cruger Record,” New York Sun, June 28, 1917, 1.
spots of human blood (p. 215): “Blood Stains Convince,” New-York Tribune, June 22, 1917, 16; “Cocchi Indicted,” New-York Tribune, June 19, 1917, 14.
“discovered and punished” (p. 215): “Cruger Case Brings Probe,” New-York Tribune, June 22, 1917, 16.
“report was written on” (p. 215): “Cruger Demands Woods Removal,” New York Times, June 21, 1917, 1.
“Very truly yours” (p. 216): New York Times, June 22, 1917, 3. The mayor to Henry Cruger: “Lamentable as is the failure of the police to succeed in your daughter’s case, it is clear that when one considers such a question as the success of a police administration, one must consider its whole history and record.”
Ruth’s burial (p. 216): “Italy Asked to Seize,” New York Sun, June 19, 1917, 5; “Italian Indicted,” Durham Morning Herald, June 19, 1917, 8.
stolen items (p. 217): “Another Mystery in Cruger Case,” Lima News, June 19, 1917, 1.
13: THE POINTED FINGER
Civic Fame (p. 218): “The Girl Higher Up,” Pittsburgh Press, March 9, 1913, 53; “The Girl Beneath the Gilding,” New York Times, December 9, 2007; James Bone, The Curse of Beauty, New York: Regan, 2016. Audrey Munson was the real model for this statue and many others.
“no specific orders on it” (p. 220): “Capt. Cooper Details Work of His Staff,” New York Evening World, June 22, 1917, 2.
premeditated act (p. 221): Inspector Faurot dug up cellars at 227 West Eighty-third Street, a former store of Cocchi’s, from early 1914 to November 1915. The detectives found a cache of old newspapers, including a morning paper dated February 16, 1917, detailing Ruth’s disappearance.
“shielded by the police department” (p. 221): “Jealous Woman, Murdered Girl,” Chicago Daily Tribune, June 20, 1917, 13.
“Take Care of Alfredo Cocchi” (p. 221): “Cooper Admits Bungling,” New-York Tribune, June 23, 1917, 1.
“not keep away from women” (p. 222): “Wife of Cocchi Will Identify,” New York Evening World, June 25, 1.
with the Children’s Society (p. 222): “Cocchi Indicted,” Democrat and Chronicle, June 19, 1917, 1.
kind of grafting operation (p. 222): “Cooper Admits Bungling,” New-York Tribune, June 23, 1917, 1. Once inside the store, victims, through gritted teeth, would have to buy something innocuous, such as a monkey wrench, for an outlandish price. In return, Cocchi would tear up the ticket and share the profits with the cops who gave it in the first place. “These summonses, it appears,” said Swann, “were generally served on automobilists. The summoned autoist was directed to go to such-and-such an address, of Cocchi or someone else. When the autoist got there he was shown newspaper clippings quoting Magistrate House on what he expected to do with the next speeders.” The summons were written in pencil so that they could be used multiple times.
Cocchi’s knife (p. 222): “Cruger Case Brings,” New-York Tribune, June 22, 1917, 16.
“ripper” (p. 223): “Ripper’s Mark Found,” New York Times, June 18, 1917, 1.
“wise to do so” (p. 223): “Mrs. Humiston to Direct,” New York Evening World, June 18, 1917, 2.
“cellar by Burns” (p. 224): “Mayor Defends Woods,” New York Times, June 22, 1917, 3. Burns had an illustrious career and would go on to be the first director of the Bureau of Investigation of the U.S. Department of Justice, the precursor to the FBI. J. Edgar Hoover was his successor. Burns also instituted the first national fingerprinting system.
“off the case” (p. 224): “Cocchi Taken; Mayor Orders Police Probe,” New-York Tribune, June 22, 1917, 1. Burns Agency detective James Downing also helped in the investigation.
She then got away (p. 224): “Police Shake-Up,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 22, 1917, 1.
held on charge of murder (p. 224): Ibid.
“return to my babies” (p. 225): “Wife Begs Cocchi,” New York Evening World, June 26, 1.
baby was ill (p. 225): “More Police Stupidity,” New York Evening World, June 28, 1917, 2.
Cocchi’s imprisonment (p. 225): “Cocchi Now in Dark Dungeon,” New York Evening World, June 30, 1917, 2.
asked for a physician (p. 225): “Death Threat,” New York Times, July 3, 1917, 4.
painting of St. Cecilia (p. 226): Antonio Forcellino and Lucinda Byatt, Raphael: A Passionate Life, Malden, MA: Polity, 2012, 195–98. The oil painting by Raphael shows Saint Cecilia contemplating the silent music of a choir of singing angels. The work now hangs in the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Bologna; Percy Bysshe Shelley, Letters from Abroad, London: Edward Moxon, 1845, 116.
“$100 a week” (p. 226): “Cocchi Declares Ruth Cruger,” New York Evening World, June 25, 1917, 2.
“I didn’t mean to” (p. 227): Ibid.
“some vital spot” (p. 227): “Cocchi Declares He Spent,” New York Evening World, June 26, 1917, 2.
“the ninety-nine cases” (p. 228): “Priest Says Cocchi,” New York Sun, June 26, 1917, 4.
called him “Al” (p. 228): Ibid.
14: THE MAN WHO LAUGHS