The Society of the Banana in Ohio: a History of the Black Hand by Shane W. Croston

Author:Shane W. Croston
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2022-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Salvatore Arrigo after his capture. Author’s collection.

Inspector Oldfield was still on the hunt for Salvatore Arrigo. He knew that Arrigo had an important role in the Society of the Banana, and it was crucial to capture him. Oldfield, along with Pate and Sanderson, received information that there had been an old Italian man seen near Batavia, Ohio, and that it was possibly Arrigo. Inspectors were told that Pasquale Scantallato had a cabin in the woods by Craver Station. The locals believed that he was hiding Arrigo there. When the description was given, Oldfield was sure it was him.

On July 23, the inspectors secured a vehicle and made their way to Batavia. After getting a little lost, a farmer pointed out the narrow dirt path that would take them to the cabin. As they got close, they noticed a shotgun resting on the corner of the porch. They seized the weapon then opened the cabin door. The inspectors saw two men sitting in an open room. They walked inside and the men were taken completely by surprise. One of them had a long white beard and was clearly Salvatore Arrigo. There were two shotguns in the room, but neither man made a move. Arrigo was placed under arrest without any fight. When questioned, he only replied, “Me no understand. Bad English.” Almost all of the men arrested had the same reply: “Me cannot speak English.”195

His host Pasquale said that Arrigo had been there for a few weeks. He knew very little about him but was told by Arrigo that he was the boss of the banana dealers in Cincinnati.196 Oldfield said that Arrigo was caught because he refused to eat the vegetables and fruits from the area. “Salvatore Arrigo was betrayed into our hands by his preference for macaroni, spaghetti, and ravioli. Arrigo could not subsist on vegetables and fruits indigenous to Clermont County, where he went to hide. He had to have his macaroni and spaghetti every day and somebody had to take it to him. We got trace of the ‘somebody,’ whom we traced, and soon had Arrigo located.”197 He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment and was placed in jail when he did not have $5,000 for bond.

Salvatore Arrigo was born on July 14, 1844, in Termini Imerese, where he was dropped off at “the wheel,” where unwanted babies were taken.198 He took the name of his adopted family: Arrigo. Around 1880, when he was in his mid-thirties, he came to America. His wife, Anna Gentile, came the following year, and they settled in Washington, D.C.199

He operated a small fruit stand on Pennsylvania Avenue but did not have much success. He met a barber by the name of Phillips who had a vacant farm in Forestville, Prince George’s County, Maryland. Salvatore asked the barber if he would allow him to work the farm on shares. The land was not being used, so Phillips told him that he could farm it. Salvatore and his family cultivated the field and began bringing wagonloads of their produce to Center Market in D.

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