Polk County in Iowa

Des Moines in Polk County

Dominic Sposeto

Homicide

Dominic Sposeto
40 YOA
S.E. Seventh & Hartford
Des Moines, IA
Polk County
July 22, 1919

By Nancy Bowers

At 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 22, 1919, 40-year-old Little Italy resident Dominic Sposeto was driving a load of vegetables from his truck garden into the Des Moines City Market.

At S.E. Seventh and Hartford streets, a young man stepped into the road and ordered Sposeto to put up his hands.

Although Sposeto complied, the assailant fired three times. Two bullets struck Sposeto between the eyes and another tore off the side of his face; he fell from the horse-drawn wagon onto the road.

Sposeto’s son and a friend were following in another wagon and chased the shooter. They, too, were fired at — although not hit — and continued pursuing until the man disappeared near a deserted coal mine.

Police formed a posse and searched the nearby neighborhoods. At the edge of the woods near the road, they lost the murderer’s tracks.

The murderer was described by the younger Sposeto as being about 21, of medium height and weight, and wearing a dark suit.

The shooting may have been related to Dominic Sposeto’s arraignment two months before in Police Court for what newspapers termed “a social charge.” He was free on bond and his trial was quickly approaching.

Thousands of Italian-Americans were terrorized by the extortion activities of the Black Hand.

Sposeto’s murder was one of four that authorities linked to Black Hand (La Mano Nera) extortion schemes against Des Moines Little Italy residents:

• Francis “Frank” Oliverio was shot and killed August 6, 1917.
• Dominico Barretto was murdered March 27, 1921.
• Angelo Ferrari — known as “The King of Little Italy” — was shot to death February 26, 1922.

Questions or information about the unsolved 1919 murder of Dominic Sposeto, should be directed to the Des Moines Police Department at 515-283-4864, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 515-286-3306, or Iowa Cold Cases through the Contact form.

Sources

• “2 Italians Shot From Ambush; 1 Dead,” Waterloo Evening Courier, August 6, 1917.
• “Blackhand [sic] Victim at State Capital,” Waterloo Evening Courier, July 22, 1919.
• “Fear Vendetta Will Cause Another Death in Des Moines Case,” Waterloo Evening Courier, March 29, 1921.
• “Italian Gardner Slain: Shot To Death By Young Man,” Des Moines News, July 22, 1919.
• “Italian Is Victim of Mysterious Murder,” Waterloo Evening Courier, March 2, 1921.
• “Murder of ‘King Of Little Italy’ Still Mystery,” Davenport Democrat and Leader, March 1, 1922.
• “Two Italians Shot,” Muscatine Journal, August 6, 1917.