Murder of Al Ritchie

MURDER OF ALBERT RITCHIE

What Al Ritchie had foretold and feared had come to past. He became the victim of the Gangland that kept it's vow. Ritchie had been marked for death for years. On June 5, 1931, the most colorful figure in the Olean-Bradford gang warfare stopped four bullets as he sat in his parked car on River Street in Bradford at 3 p.m. that Friday afternoon. He died two hours later at the Bradford Hospital.

Tony Maccio, a lifelong resident of Bradford, in the car with Ritchie, was also shot. He was taken to the Bradford Hospital also and was in a precarious condition with a bullet in his back.

Ritchie's assailant escaped after his daylight attack on the busy street. The Bradford police sent out a general alarm for the arrest of Tony Lorenzo, 37, who had been living in Bradford for four months. Lorenzo was described as short, stout, and well dressed wearing black and white sport shoes. He had black hair, combed in an pompadour style.

The shots that killed Ritchie and wounded Maccio were fired shortly after Al had come from the Bradford Public Square where Evangeline Booth, a leader in the Salvation Army, had been speaking. Al had driven to River Street with Maccio, whom he had offered to drive home. Upon arriving in front of No. 2 River Street, Ritchie pulled over on the wrong side of the street ( 20 North Street) to speak to Lorato Sarandra who was an old friend.

Sarandra was the only witness to the shooting and he admitted that he did not see much of it. He told the police, "A big fellow pushed right up, stuck a gun in the car and started firing. I got three children and I turned and ran as fast as I could. I heard four shots but never turned around again."

The Bradford police were not able to locate anyone who saw the killer make his getaway. They believe he had a car waiting and jumped into it and fled.

Three bullets hit Ritchie in the head and a fourth entered his shoulder. Maccio was struck by two bullets in his back which left him partially paralyzed the next day.

Al Ritchie was able to stagger from the car with Maccio following, but Ritchie collapsed on the sidewalk. When the two ambulances arrived, Ritchie, game to the last, walked to one of them. Two hours later he was dead.

City Detective G. R. Fairbanks and Patrolman David Kehoe rode to the hospital with the injured men and it was said that Ritchie whispered to Fairbanks the name of the man who fired the shots. At the hospital Ritchie sank into coma from which he never recovered.

The search for Lorenzo was progressing on the following day with the Bradford police and County Detective Jack Allison co-operating. Lorenzo came to Bradford four months earlier to work in a bakery. At the hospital it was said that Maccio whispered that a man named "Tony" did the shooting.

Following the coroner's inquest into Ritchie's death the body was removed to the home of Angelo Ciscone in Hilton Street. It was Angelo's seventeen year old daughter that the slain racketeer had married about a year earlier.

Ritchie was 45 years old and was survived by his wife and he had no children. He was buried on June 8, 1931 in St. Bernard's cemetery, Bradford, Pa. The services were brief and were held at St. Bernard's church. Rev. Andrew Quirk said the last Mass for the repose of the dead gangster's soul. The coffin was carried to the church and lowered into the grave by the following pallbearers: Dan Burccino, Angelo Maccia and Sam Bonaglia of Scranton, Pa., Sam Fast and Sam Mussari of Bradford.

As for reports of pending reprisals upon the pallbearers the police scouted all such possibility. The whole history of gangdom did not reveal a single instance where the funeral of any one of its victims had been interfered with.

Despite the wide spread interest in Al's death and the lurid accounts of his life that had been printed since he was "bumped off", attendance at the funeral was surprisingly small. Only a few who had known Al in life came to see him buried. The flowers were few and came from friends of the dead man's young wife.

There was no disorder at the funeral and the Bradford police said that they anticipated none, but furnished motorcycle escort to take the funeral possession through traffic as was done in all cases where the request was made.

Following Al's funeral, J. A. Still, the undertaker in charge of the funeral, revealed how Ritchie had picked out his coffin weeks in advance of his killing. When Francisco Barbalagi's body was found near Bell's Camp on April 15, Ritchie came to the undertaking rooms to view the remains. As he was looking around his eye happened to light upon a handsome solid copper casket. "I'll be needing one of those soon now," Al told Still. "You had better save that one for me." It was in this same casket that Al was laid away on Monday.

INVESTIGATION GOES ON

With Al Ritchie, Bradford's gangland chieftain in his grave, Bradford and McKean county authorities turned their efforts to the task of ridding the county of the booze peddling and vice activities that had resulted in five murders since Jan. 1, 1931. They continued to run down the few meager clues to the whereabouts of the murderer. The search for Tony Lorenzo who the authorities believed was brought to Bradford by Al's enemies for the purpose of ridding this section of one of its most hated figures.

The Bradford authorities admitted that they were up against a blank wall in their search. The only two witnesses, Lorato Sandraea and Tony Colleta who saw the actual shooting, were questioned at the inquest which was attended by Coroner S. A. McCutcheon, District Attorney Charles G. Hubbard, and County Detective Allison. It was on their testimony that authorities based their identification of Lorenzo as the man who wielded the gun. Ritchie's car was parked in front of Collela's shop in River Street and Sandraea was leaning against the machine talking to Ritchie and Maccio. They stated that the killer thrust his gun into the car and began firing. The bullets that struck Maccio were believed to have gone through Richie's face. The gun used was a .32 caliber automatic, firing steel jacketed bullets.

Plainly shocked by the conditions which culminated on June 5th in the shooting of Ritchie and Tony Maccia, District Attorney Charles Hubbard of Kane, Pa., issued a statement following the inquest which named Tony Lorenzo as Al's killer. The Ritchie murder, he stated, preceded as it was by a series of similar killings, has pointed to the need for drastic action to rid the district of undesirables. Mr. Hubbard said that personally he was doing everything in his power to bring the end about.

The first step in the cleanup was hoped to be the arrest of Lorenzo, although officials admitted they have little to go on. The reputed slayer simply faded away, after he had fired shots which killed Ritchie and wounded Maccio.

County Detective Jack Allison was heading the search, aided by State Troopers and members of the Bradford police department. A search of Lorenzo's rooms, where he had been quartered during his four month's stay in Bradford, indicated that everything had been set for a hurried getaway. All of the man's clothing had been removed from the premises.

Maccio was still in the Bradford Hospital in critical condition but the doctors believed that he might recover. An operation was performed for the removal of one of the bullets. The other, however, was found to be pressing upon the spinal cord, causing paralysis from the shoulders down. It's removal was impossible. Maccio was an innocent victim of the shooting. He had no criminal record and was merely being driven home in Ritchie's car when the killer opened fire.

While the search went on for the slayer there was much conjecture among the officials as to who would succeed Al's place as head of McKean County alcohol running activities, assuming that authorities fail to break up the traffic. It was stated that the death of Joe Barber left Al and his associates virtually in control of this rich field.

LORENZO ARRESTED

The State Police from Punzsutawney arrested Tony Lorenzo about 9 o'clock Wednesday morning , June 10, 1931, at Weedsville, Pa, near Ridgeway. He was taken to Ridgeway and later to Smethport where he was held for questioning. The police said that he had been hiding in a store of the Elk Trading Company at Weedville for three or four days.

Lorenzo's arrest came as a climax to the most spectacular killing that this vicinity bootleg warfare had ever seen. Sergeant William Jones of the Punxsutawney barracks commanded the force, compose of Privates May, James and Gibbons. James and Gibbons were stationed outside the building, armed with rifles, to block any attempt at a break for liberty. Jones and May crept inside and up to the room, where they had been tipped Lorenzo was hidden. Jones flung open the door, and the chase was over. Lorenzo was caught totally unprepared and surrendered without a struggle. A search of the room revealed a .32 caliber automatic pistol and a .32 caliber revolver.

The officers were at a loss for a moment as to whether they had the right man, he looked so different from the descriptions of him. He was not dapper and handsome, rather he was under the medium height, and had a rather ugly face. He did not even look dangerous, except when, during later questioning, a forbidding flash would sometimes come into his eyes. The tattooing of a woman on each forearm, however told the troopers that they had their man. He was loaded into a car, under heavy guard and rushed to the Smethport County jail, where Detective< Allison and the officials were waiting to receive him. A degree of secrecy was maintained until he was safe behind the bars to prevent any chance of an attempt to rescue the prisoner.

Questioned at the County jail Lorenzo stoutly maintained that he did not shoot Ritchie, that he was not even in Bradford on the day of the killing. He told Allison that he left Bradford on Thursday, the day before the killing.
"I go to look for job," he said.

Detective Allison said that he had positive proof that Lorenzo was in Bradford on Friday, the day of the killing, and was lurking about the scene, River and North Streets, within a half an hour of the time of the shooting. He went on further to say that he had been able to trace Lorenzo's movements after the shooting. Leaving River Street, Allison maintained, the man walked to the Erie Railroad tracks. Here he was picked up and taken to Lewis Run, where he stayed over night. Proceeding to Kane, he remained there two days, under cover, and then went on to Weedville. He hitchhiked part of the way.

The Elk Tanning Company store, where Lorenzo was found was conducted by Vincenzo Andriello and it was a favorite hangout of Joe Barber, whose death Ritchie's killing was believed to be a reprisal. Joe had left Bradford some months before his death and had taken up his residence in Punzsutawney, not far from Weedville. It was on a brief visit to Bradford, to see a woman that he met his death.

Detective Allison was able to piece a fairly accurate account of Lorenzo's history since he came to this country.

The man came to America from Italy in 1923. For the next six or seven years he worked on the docks in Brooklyn. In June 1930, he arrived in Bradford, apparently looking for work, and took a job with a gang laying a pipe line. He worked at this for abut three months. While in Bradford on this occasion Lorenzo lived at 16 River Street and with Joe Murphy in North Street. He then went to Salamanca, where a certain connection with the recent gang warfare came to light. In Salamanca he took up his residence with Joe Valentino, the same Joe who was murdered with Joe Cook, near Limestone in February. He also lived with Rocco Olivera at Salamanca. In March of 1931 Lorenzo again came to Bradford and took a job as a handy man in the bakery of Colella Brothers.

On June 11, Antonio Lorenzo Demaio alias Tony Lorenzo was formerly charged with the murder of Al Ritchie. He was arraigned before Justice of the Peace R. C. Gleason and was held without bail to await the action of the McKean County Grand Jury. During the arraignment Demaio denied his guilt in the face of positive identification by two witnesses. All the testimony given was brief and the hearing was over with soon. Demaio was not represented by an attorney.

Only once did the courtroom scene take a dramatic turn. "That the man," cried Lorretta Sarandrea of Bradford, who had been taking to Ritchie when he was shot down in his car.
"No, no," replied Demaio. "I never did it."
This was the only time that Demaio spoke during the hearing, except when he admitted the ownership of a gun that was shown him by County Detective Jack Allison. the gun was introduced into evidence.

Sarandrea was sure in this identification of Demio as the man who came up as he leaned against Ritchie's car, thrust his hand inside and begun firing. Sarandrea told how he ran away from the scene but not before he had seen the killer.

Tony Colella, in front of whose store on River Street, the shooting took place, told what he saw. He was inside the store, he said, and came out when he heard the shots. He saw a man leaving the scene and told the court that man was Demaio.

Before he died Ritchie told City Detective Garen Fairbanks that "Lorenzo" was the man who shot him, the officer testified. His testimony was backed by Traffic Officer C. D. Herman, who said Ritchie started to tell him something about "Tony" was too weak to continue.

When the prisoner was brought from the jail he was heavily guarded and deputy sheriffs were stationed on all the roads leading into the village, to stop suspicious characters. No sign of disorder was evident during the hearing.

Justice Gleason held Sarandrea and Colella as material witnesses and fixed their bail at $1,000 each. Sarandrea was taken into custody on the previous night in Bradford by Acting Chief Michael Firko as he stepped from a train from Buffalo and was held at the city lockup over night. It was said that his life had been threatened and that the move was one of protection for him. Later that day Colella and Sarandrea paid the bail of $1,000 each and were released from custody.

Seated in a cell in the McKean County jail on Friday, June 11th, Demaio was never out of sight of the guards who pace the corridor. He talked only when spoken to, but otherwise took little interest in what was going on about him. The officials claimed that he was one of the most dangerous men that the little jail had ever held.

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