A personal feud between "Gentleman Pirate" Nathan Zachary and the vicious Black Hat gang spilled over to the Empire State last night, as Zachary attacked a Black Hat freighter and dockside warehouse in a bold nighttime raid, without assistance from his Fortune Hunter gang. Police investigation has revealed that an apparently simple case of rivalry between two pirate gangs is actually a tale of conspiracy, treachery and violence.

Empire State Police uncovered a wealth of stolen goods at the Black Hat warehouse, many reported stolen while under the protection of Sacred Trust, Inc., North America's newest aviation security firm and hotdog recent rival of Blake Aviation Security. In a startling twist, Sacred Trust, Incorporated has been initially identified as the owner of the Black Hat warehouse cracked open in the raid.

Even more startling, several of the Black Hat gangsters arrested in the rubble of Zachary's raid have claimed that Lucas Miles—Nathan Zachary's former partner and a criminal wanted for acts of piracy and murder—is the mastermind behind the Black Hat/STI conspiracy. Sacred Trust officials could not be reached for comment.

"At this time, we have no knowledge of Mr. Miles' whereabouts, if indeed he's even alive," said police spokesman Captain Franklin Kincaid. "We are not in the habit of taking the word of pirates currently in custody. We are, however, pursuing this lead vigorously."

Captain Kincaid's comment came before the even more stunning revelation that the Steinmann the freighter Zachary attacked, originally believed to be operated by members of Black Hat gang, is in fact registered to a German company, which is in turn reportedly owned by high-ranking officials of the German government.

Though Blake Aviation Security has refrained from public statements, sources within the Empire State government have revealed that Blake and Zachary reportedly uncovered evidence of collusion between STI and the Black Hats and revealed this connection to President Fiorello La Guardia at about the same time as Zachary's raid.

"Lucas' involvement is one more piece to this dirty puzzle," said Empire State Chief of Detectives, Albert O'Neil, the chief investigator on the "Black Hats" case. "This office will continue its efforts to rip these worms from the Big Apple's core." There is currently a arrest warrant out on Jackson Meade, the nominal president of Sacred Trust, and on Lucas Miles, the apparently leader of the Black Hats/STI conspiracy, on charges of racketeering, fraud, and conspiracy.

Empire State President Fiorello LaGuardia has lodged a formal protest with the German Ambassador to the League of Nations in Columbia, and is demanding an explanation from the Kaiser's Government. The German Ambassador to the Empire State is currently in Germany and not available for comment, and the embassy has had no official release. The Empire State's ambassador to Germany has apparently conferred with the Chancellor's Office and the Imperial Court in Berlin, but there are no reports as to the exchanges.