Here's mud in your...mouth?

The fact that he had mud stuffed in his mouth and mud all over his clothing led police to believe that Camello Licarti, age given as 41, was shot through the head out in the boonies somewhere and his corpse carted back to Cleveland's East Side, on this date in 1930, and dumped in the gutter.

Licarti was a long time gangster who was sent to prison for killing a cop in 1917. After serving about ten years, he was released and deported to Italy, but somehow managed to get back into the States.

Papers found on his person showed that he was acquainted with Anthony and Joseph Borsellino, who were bumped off about a week prior. Since their deaths were so close, police took a guess that Licarti was killed in retaliation for the Borsellino murders. One suspects that they could have just as easily  guessed that Licarti was knocked off because he was involved with the Borsellinos.

Two in the Trunk

On this date back in 1930 A coupe was found sitting in a field in the town of  Brecksville, about fifteen or so miles outside of Cleveland. Crammed the in trunk, or turtle back, as they were then called, were the bodies of Anthony Borsellino, 40,  and his 39 year-old cousin Joe*. Both men were described as Cleveland gangsters and both had been garroted with a cord and there wrists tied to their feet.

The last anyone had heard of them they said they were on their way to Akron to meet some people. Obviously they never made it. Cops thought that perhaps Akron gangsters took them out. It was also speculated that Cleveland gangsters may have taken them out. There was strife in the Cleveland underworld at the time and one paper stated that Anthony had replaced the recently dispatched Big Joe Lonardo as Mafia boss. Seeing that both men were executed in the same fashion as Sam Monastero, Pittsburgh authorities felt that perhaps there was an inter-state rum war going on and the Borsellinos fell victim to the same killers as Monestero.