But
the news got abroad that Lupo was after Patti, and there was a
run on Patti's bank. It was a big run, and some of the
depositors gesticulated and threatened--for Patti couldn't pay
it all out in a minute. Then there was some kind of a row,
and Patti and his friends (claiming that the Mafia had
arrived) opened fire, killing one man and wounding others.
The newspapers praised Patti for a brave and stalwart citizen.
Maybe he was. After the smoke had cleared away, however, he
disappeared with all his depositors' money, and now it has
been discovered that the man he killed was a depositor and not
a Black Hander. The police are still looking for him.
This case seems a fairly good illustration of the endless
opportunity for wrong-doing possible in a state of society
where extortion is permitted to exist--where the laws are not
enforced--where there is a "higher" sanction than the code.
Whether Patti was a good or a bad man, he might easily have
killed an enemy in revenge and got off scot-free on the mere
claim that the other was blackmailing him; just as an American
in some parts of our country can kill almost anybody and rely
on being acquitted by a jury, provided he is willing to swear
that the deceased had made improper advances to his wife.
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