Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-09-22
THE TRIAL OF SAITTA.
The Defendants Attorney Endeavors
to Prove an Alibi.
THE ACCUSED TAKES TIE STAND
And Tells of His Every Movement on the
Night of the Fire.
OTHER INTERESTING COURT NEWS.

The trial of P. A Saitts on the charge Of
setting fire to the Dallmeyer building on
Liberty street on December 10 was continued
before Judge McClung yesterday. District
Attorney Burleigh offered in evidence the
affidavit of Saitta in the suit brought against
him by the Dallmeyer estate for rent after
the building was destroyed by fire. In
this the prisoner claimed to have verbal
agreement subsequent to the drawing up of
the original lease, by which it was agreed
that there should be no rent demanded in
case the building was burned.
W. E Eichley, the last witness for the
Commonwealth, testified to hearing con-
yersation between the defendant and Mr.
Dallmeyer inswhich Saitta said that he had
been sick all night and hadn't heard of the
fire until short time before the converse
tion. The witness also said that he remem-
bered Saitta saying that he had been at the
store till late hour.
Opening of the Defense.
John S Robb, ESQ.,, made the opening
for the defense and made an outline of his
case, which would be to show that the
prison was not at or near the store on the
night of the fire.
Henry Daub, the wholesale grocer, was
the first witness for the defense. He knew
Saitta for six years and said that his gen.
eral reputation for honesty was good.
p. A. Saitta, the defendant. was placed
on the stand and gave his testimony in
cool, collected manner, without any show of
nervousness In answer to questions he
I'll h., ,f.,hr oE Sha Erah ha 1aff H.
store at 6:15, and went direct to his home,
112 Center avenue, and stopped there until
s o'clock. He then came downtown and
went to barber shop on Eighth street, and
stopped there until $50. The barber shop
being crowded he left and went 10 Barcky's
fruit store and from there to several differ
ent places, returning home at Ills o'clock,
when he went to bed.
The News Carried to Him.
At 11:35 he was awakened bv his wife
who told him there was some one ringing
the bell and on answering it he was told
that his store was on fire. The witness got
dressed and went down to the building and
left there about o'clock. At the time of
the fire the firm was carrying from SIS, 900
to $4,000 worth of stock, as it was their
best business time. The witness admitted
having talk with Mr. Dallmeyer OIL the
day after the fire when the witness told Mr..
Dallmeyer that he was a ruined man and it
made him sick. The firm carried about
SIG 600 worth of insurance and settled with
Major Hammer, who had placed the insur-
ance, for S10, 1000. In the year 1891, up until
the time of the fire, the firm did business
OF $3.50, 600.
District Attorney Burleigh cross-exam-
ined the witness at great length, but did
not get him to deviate any from his story.
The Prisoner Corroborated.
Major Hammer corroborated the prisoner
as to the insurance compromise, and said
that he had known Mr.. Saitta for years
and that he had always borne a good char
acter
J. S. B. Mercer, j. j. Kennedy, Joseph
Cuneo and others were called and testified
to the prisoners good character.
This closed the case and Major Montooth
made the argument for the defense The
speaker claimed that the Commonwealth
had failed to in any way identify Mr..
Saitta with the fire and that the prisoner
would have been an idiot to have attempted
to burn the building in the way it was
done. The defense had proved that the
prisoner was not at or near the store on the
night OF the fire and that the man who was
seen to come out of the cellar hole was not
the prisoner but the real incendiary who
lad gone in there for the purpose of theft.
The Prosecution Closes.
District Attorney Burleigh made strong
argument for the Commonwealth, and said |
that a chain of circumstantial evidence
could not be more complete. The case was
one wherein there could not possibly be |
anv eve Witnesses and the only evidence |
would, therefore, have to be crcumstantiaL |
The testimony of all the witnesses was gone |
over in full and the jury was asked to
render verdict of guilty.
Judge McClung will deliver his charge to |
the jury this morning.