◆ SpookStack

_| were strange do- oe Ped ae ¢ ortress o——? 5 —— Among Quiet Indiana Farms, It was last May when the residents of Hobart, Ind,, (pop, 5,787] came to realize that there ings in the coun- tryside. Some one f of great impor- tance — certainly one of great wealth-—had come among them. Large farms were being swift- ly bought up for cash— ho in $1,000 bills. a total of $300,000 had been paid for land and $100,000 was being spent in modernizing five Beautiful farm residences, and in barn and outbuild- ing renovation and reconstruction. Track Laid Out. New barns the size of Zeppelin hengars were being built, A_ half mile dirt track had been laid oul and there were special stables for blooded Crees locates Ruperior Forms, .| horses and caitle. Six foot cyclone fences topped with barbed. wire inclosed the tract. A fortified empire had been created In the heart of Lake county—John Dil- linger’s favorite stamping gro+--2. ‘The owner, the people learned was & Mr. Carromo; a Mr. Michael Car- orzo, If you please. It was something of a shock, how- ‘Vever, when they found that their ‘Jcountry gentieman was and is none ‘other than the Carrozzo who has Jong been known ai\Dago Mike, Capone, henchman and cigr of the street la ‘\vorers’ council in Chicago. His name has been on many police blotters since 1916, Twice he was indicted for murder and often arrested for earry- ing concealed weapons, but he never was convicted on these charges. bject of Discussion. sweeperfjchose the old Dillinger ter- ‘| ritory for his fortified estate—and It | is fortified in the most modern man-| ner—is a subject of much discw'¢ion | both In Chicago and the Hobart cty | tryside. \ Cw STA EY OT SSB Just Yhy the king of the street Carrozzo is wealthy, but those w! know him doubt that he could have personage than Al Capone n when he finishes a one year term &/ the county jail after his release from Alcatraz penitentiary next year. It is said that Capone's friends, re- calling the good fortune Dillinger en- foyed in Lake county, have long sidered that district to be the saf- est possible haven for their leader in crime. Dillinger made his fabu- lous escape from the Lake county jail in Crown Point in 1834 to resume a life of outlawry. Meanwhile, crews of workmen ere renovating and fortifying Mr. Car- rozzo’s country place, which Mike named Superior farms. - Wherever Mike goes on his preserves he is with- in aight of = number of hard faced, chunky little men. Some of them ere beside him, others behind him end still others peer out from the“shrub- bery. “My Secretaries,” He Explains. “My secretaries,” Mr. Carrozzo ex- plains to his neighbors. But from the many workmen on the farm the, neighbors have learned thet each of, the secretaries carries a large bore pistol on his hip. None speaks Eng- lish, . Carrozzo’s appearance in the area unheralded. He dropped in one day at the home of # farmer who was offering for $170,000 a 320 acre tract that had three residences on ft and a number of barns. Mike laid down 145 $1,000 bills. It was a deal. Then he bought four adjoining farms, bringing to 900 acres his total holdings. The empire is on U. 8. highway No. 6 about fifty miles south- east of Chicago. Driving toward Su- perjor Farms you roll along nearly @ Mile between the high fences—fences ordinarily seen only around penal in- stitutions—before reaching the first group of buildings. Barriers Block Gateway. The gateway 1s blocked by heavy iron barriers, Behind them is a pretty white pillared farmhouse, roofed with green slate. About 200 yards to the south stands one of the largest barns in the central west—its length is about 300 feet. There are three enormous silos and many small build- ings and sheds, all painted # dazzling white, ‘ There are Signs on the fence at regular intervais, warning against trespassing. ut they haven't had any trouble about trespassers since the folks heard about the secretaries,” one native remarked. Down the road is another pretty white house, with an even heavier; fence around it. You are struck by! the absolute bareness of. the grounds. ‘There are no trees behind which any One could take cover. “They tell as,” remarked the guide, “that Mike throw electrical cur- rent into the fence. That's the Car- 14-Pomzo residence, you know, BQ-/57 mit wi em mes oun W/- the encl —_ ie” with mesh “sade heavy, 1 laing wire. a ae Pocssii & little farther yg: An, nee, Mb o tan he wich re two es bulldings, Yaround. wie Rous, et; and tilesetters are Tog Mike har a Tot of guests” are plenty tricky. But they say Mike In not so hat. Hi ind the other day.” fe fell off his horse,