the Treasure Tale in the books
Bandit Michael Rizzalo stole a $12,000 payroll in 1888 and was said to have buried it in a tin box on Laurel Run Mountain outside of Wilkes-Barre.
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[FONT="]LOOKBACK: 1888 PAYROLL CAPER The year was 1888 and the headline read ``MURDER MOST FOUL.''
The crime was described at the time as one of the most brutal, coldblooded murders in the history of the county. And the mystery of ``Red-Nosed Mike's'' loot still remains unsolved.Along with the mystery surrounding Red-Nosed Mike's loot,[/FONT][FONT="] [FONT="]Most of the $12,000 Mike and his accomplices stole might still be buried near Laurel Run Creek.
Stations from the Lehigh Valley Railroad once dotted Northeastern Pennsylvania. This station, photographed in 1894, was in Susquehanna County.
The Lehigh Valley Railroad once known as `The Route of the Black Diamond' because its locomotives burned anthracite coal mined in Northeastern Pennsylvania linked our region to Chicago and New York.
The story began on Oct. 19, 1888, - payday for men working for Charles McFadden, a well-known area railroad contractor working on a major project for the Lehigh Valley Railroad.
The crew was working on the mountain cutoff branch of the old railroad between Fairview Township in the Mountaintop area and Pleasant Valley near Avoca, according to a newspaper account.
In the middle of the afternoon, one of McFadden's employees, J.B. McClure, arrived at the Wyoming National Bank to pick up the $12,000 payroll.
A teller at the bank questioned why McClure was travelling alone. McClure assured him that a co-worker, Hugh Flanagan, was waiting just outside.
``I would not go alone, for the entire amount of money would not induce me,'' said McClure, the company's paymaster, to the teller. ``A man's life would not be safe on that lonely road if he was known to have $12,000. Mr. Flanagan is going with me.''
But the men never made it back to the job site with the payroll. The men were shot to death just a few miles from the job site in a daring daylight robbery. When the bodies were found, they had bullet wounds to the head and neck. Even the horse that was transporting the men was slaughtered.
James McFadden, the contractor, hired the world-famous Pinkerton Detective Agency to find the killers and recover the money. The Pinkertons had an impeccable record for such manhunts, according to newspaper accounts.
The crooks - all Italian immigrants - were later identified as Guissepi Bevevino, Vincent Valalli and Michael Rizzolo, known as ``Red-nosed Mike'' because of the color and unusual shape of his nose.
The Pinkerton search ended just three months later when Mike was arrested in Philadelphia. The other two suspects were arrested in Italy a short time later.
Mike told police he was part of the robbery but said his two accomplices, Bevevino and Valalli, did the killing. It was unclear what happened to Bevevino and Valalli because the Italian government would not extradite them.
After Mike was brought back to the area, he led Pinkerton detectives to the repository where guns, a tin box and satchel were recovered. But only $251 was recovered from the hiding place near Plains Township. Another $1,000 was recovered from one of the men in Italy.
Mike was convicted in Feb. 11, 1889, and was hanged on June 25. Minutes before he was hanged, Mike confessed to the murders.
The rest of the loot was never found.
It was reported that the money was buried in a tin box in the area of the Laurel Run Creek, which runs from Laurel Run to ``The Tubs'' natural area near state Route 115.
A researcher in the mid-'70s, Walter Bulson, said another newspaper report stated the loot also might have been divvied up by the bandits at the hiding place. [/FONT]
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Bandit Michael Rizzalo stole a $12,000 payroll in 1888 and was said to have buried it in a tin box on Laurel Run Mountain outside of Wilkes-Barre.
==========================
[FONT="]LOOKBACK: 1888 PAYROLL CAPER The year was 1888 and the headline read ``MURDER MOST FOUL.''
The crime was described at the time as one of the most brutal, coldblooded murders in the history of the county. And the mystery of ``Red-Nosed Mike's'' loot still remains unsolved.Along with the mystery surrounding Red-Nosed Mike's loot,[/FONT][FONT="] [FONT="]Most of the $12,000 Mike and his accomplices stole might still be buried near Laurel Run Creek.
Stations from the Lehigh Valley Railroad once dotted Northeastern Pennsylvania. This station, photographed in 1894, was in Susquehanna County.
The Lehigh Valley Railroad once known as `The Route of the Black Diamond' because its locomotives burned anthracite coal mined in Northeastern Pennsylvania linked our region to Chicago and New York.
The story began on Oct. 19, 1888, - payday for men working for Charles McFadden, a well-known area railroad contractor working on a major project for the Lehigh Valley Railroad.
The crew was working on the mountain cutoff branch of the old railroad between Fairview Township in the Mountaintop area and Pleasant Valley near Avoca, according to a newspaper account.
In the middle of the afternoon, one of McFadden's employees, J.B. McClure, arrived at the Wyoming National Bank to pick up the $12,000 payroll.
A teller at the bank questioned why McClure was travelling alone. McClure assured him that a co-worker, Hugh Flanagan, was waiting just outside.
``I would not go alone, for the entire amount of money would not induce me,'' said McClure, the company's paymaster, to the teller. ``A man's life would not be safe on that lonely road if he was known to have $12,000. Mr. Flanagan is going with me.''
But the men never made it back to the job site with the payroll. The men were shot to death just a few miles from the job site in a daring daylight robbery. When the bodies were found, they had bullet wounds to the head and neck. Even the horse that was transporting the men was slaughtered.
James McFadden, the contractor, hired the world-famous Pinkerton Detective Agency to find the killers and recover the money. The Pinkertons had an impeccable record for such manhunts, according to newspaper accounts.
The crooks - all Italian immigrants - were later identified as Guissepi Bevevino, Vincent Valalli and Michael Rizzolo, known as ``Red-nosed Mike'' because of the color and unusual shape of his nose.
The Pinkerton search ended just three months later when Mike was arrested in Philadelphia. The other two suspects were arrested in Italy a short time later.
Mike told police he was part of the robbery but said his two accomplices, Bevevino and Valalli, did the killing. It was unclear what happened to Bevevino and Valalli because the Italian government would not extradite them.
After Mike was brought back to the area, he led Pinkerton detectives to the repository where guns, a tin box and satchel were recovered. But only $251 was recovered from the hiding place near Plains Township. Another $1,000 was recovered from one of the men in Italy.
Mike was convicted in Feb. 11, 1889, and was hanged on June 25. Minutes before he was hanged, Mike confessed to the murders.
The rest of the loot was never found.
It was reported that the money was buried in a tin box in the area of the Laurel Run Creek, which runs from Laurel Run to ``The Tubs'' natural area near state Route 115.
A researcher in the mid-'70s, Walter Bulson, said another newspaper report stated the loot also might have been divvied up by the bandits at the hiding place. [/FONT]
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