Nicollo Vinceri
44 YOA
1518 S. 18th Street
Centerville, IA
Appanoose County
February 10, 1920
Nicollo Vinceri immigrated to the United States from Sicily in 1909 and made his way west to Iowa, as many of his fellow countrymen had done.
Coal was being extracted in southern and central Iowa, attracting large numbers of Italians to mining camps and towns in those areas.
Vinceri settled in Centerville and was a miner at the Black Coal Company. He prospered and bought his own home at 1518 S. 18th Street in the south part of town, where many fellow Italians lived.
In Iowa Italian communities, the language, food, customs, and traditions of the native country could be kept alive.
Thousands of Italian-Americans were terrorized by the extortion activities of the Black Hand.
Unfortunately, another more sinister tradition followed the Italian immigrants to their new homes in America: the Black Hand, a menacing group of fellow Italians who sent extortion letters demanding money and threatening death.
The threats were very real and many Italians in Iowa were injured and killed during the reign of the Black Hand from the early years of the 1900s through the 1920s.
The Centerville Italian community was not immune. In February 1915, an Italian miner — unnamed by the newspapers and a resident for only nine weeks — was murdered by the Black Hand. His throat was slit and he was dragged to the railroad tracks and left with his head on a rail.
In February 1916, Italian grocer August Francesco received a Black Hand letter ordering him to leave $150 in a certain place and warning him that if he did not comply or if he notified the police, he would be killed. Francesco ignored the threats and informed law enforcement to protect his family and home.
At 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 10, 1920, Nicollo Vinceri — who was then 44 — went outside to feed his cow.
Someone lying in wait fired a shot. A bullet grazed his right arm and entered his right breast. Vinceri ran a few yards — calling out for help — before collapsing and dying on the porch of a nearby grocery store.
Appanoose County Sheriff George Elgin and his deputies arrived to investigate within 40 minutes of the shooting.
However, little could be learned from neighbors and family. The Humeston New Era wrote:
“. . . attention was at once given to a survey of the grounds for a possible clue to the party who had fired the shot. This proved to be a hard task. No one living in the vicinity had seen the shooting, no person had been seen loitering around and none seemed to have any idea as to who might have committed the deed or the motive therefore. Vinceri seemed to have no enemies among his neighbors, the majority of who [sic] are of the same nationality.”
The Waterloo Evening Courier suggested the murder was Black Hand-related and reported:
“Vinceri’s family of wife and [four] children maintain terrified silence when questioned as to whether there had been threats.”
The powerful Black Hand not only likely murdered Nicolo Vinceri but also prevented a resolution of the case through intimidation. It is unknown, at least publically, who committed the homicide.
Nicolo Vinceri was born March 16, 1875 in Messina, Sicily. He married Concetta Gagliardo. In February 1909, the Vinceris and their young son Gaetano (known both as “Guy” and “Tony”) departed Salerno on the S.S. Re D’ Italia and landed in New York City.
Their second child, Mary “Marie” was born in Perry, Illinois. By 1911, the Vinceri family was living in Appanoose County, where two more daughters — Rosa and Josephine — were born.
In the years following Nicola’s death, Concetta Vinceri married Carmello LaPaglia of Centerville.
Following is a partial list of unsolved Iowa murders believed related to the Black Hand. Click on the name to read the individual Case Summaries:
Questions and information concerning the unsolved 1920 murder of Nicolo Vinceri should be directed to the Appanoose County Sheriff at 641-437-7100 or Iowa Cold Cases through the Contact form.
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