The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-01-22
MAY BE MURDER
Man and Wife Attacked by
a Drunken Italian in
Hoboken.
WIFE'S THROAT SLAsHED'
She Had Rushed to the Assistance
Of Her Bleeding Husband
May Die. All

A man and wife were stabbed last night
by drunken Italian, in Adams street, Ho-
boken. The husbands injuries are not seri-
Gus, but the wife is not expected to live.
The man who did the stabbing is M. Ratio
of No. $50 Adams street. He is in jail, as
are also Philip Pontio, twenty-six years OF
age; Mike Fatto, forty years of age;
Godora Preterntonio, forty years of age, OF
No. 52S Adams street; Peter Guardi, No. 626
Clinton street; Fred Preterntonio, forty-two
years of age, of No 81 Mulberry street,
New York; Patricks Pandoloe, twenty-five
years of age of No. 160 Adams street;
Sylvester Neidea of No. 52S Adams street,
and Frank Media of No. 527 Adams street.
All of these men were arrested during the
night, the last two as witnesses and the
others as being involved in the row.
THE FIGHT
The neighborhood where the stabbing oc-
Cured is inhabited almost exclusively by
italians. Not many years ago it was
swamp, but these Italians, by their peculiar
energy and saving, have erected large frame
tenement houses, which are occupied by
their countrymen. 1t is mistaken notion
to believe that all are low, disreputable
SET On the contrary, the majority of those
living there are men and their families VINO
conduct themselves as well as any other
class. But, unfortunately, there are IN the
neighborhood the gin mills, and these at
tract the vicious Italians. In No. $50
Adams street. in rooms above the store,
lived seven or eight Italians by themselves.
They were employed at laboring work, and
cooked their own meals and the like Their
neighbors cared little for them-they were
recognized as bad gang. All day yester-
day they drank liquor and played cards.
After dark they began to quarrel among
themselves From the house they went
to the street. Michael Romano, of No.
| 527 Adams street, was on the way
| to his stable to feed his horse, when he
noticed the fight He walked across the
street to see what the trouble was. As he
approached the crowd, Ratio asked him
what he wanted He answered nothing, and
| for a minute or so the two men exchanged
words Mrs. Romano saw from her window
| that there was trouble, and tnat her husband
| seemed to be involved. She handed her
baby to a woman in the room and ran down
stairs to the street. In the meantime
| Michel had started from the scene of the
| quarrel for his own house. Ratio sprang at
| him. and with razor slashed him repeat
edly in the face, vainly trying to get at the
| throat.
| sIAsHED THE wIFE'S THROAT.
| When Mrs. Romano reached the street
Ratio was slashing her husband. With
| scream she ran forward. As she did so
| Ratio drew the razor from her husbands
l face, and with an oath, slathed Mrs. Ho-
| mano's throat The woman uttered pierc-
| ing scream and fell to the street alongside
/ her husband, both man and wife literally
| covered with blood. Ratio seemed too drunk
! for a moment to realize what he had done.
| He dropped the razor and stood in the street,
| while the crowds gathered rouud The
woman was carried upstairs to her room ana
placed upon the lounge
| Peter Guardi of No. 636 Clinton street
one of the gang, tried to get Ratio away, but
| the other Italians hemmed him in, till
| Officers Kealey and Delaney arrived. The
| officers were told woman was stabbed also,
| but the Italians spoke such bad English that
| they didn't imagine the woman's cuts
amounted to much. They took Rafflio,
Guardi and Romano to the station house.
| Ratio, to all questions answered, 'Noa UNI
stan'." He is british looking fellow, every
| inch of him.
| Romano's wounds were dressed by City
| Physician Simon He had three gashes in
| the left cheek, one being fully four inches
| long and just above the jawbone. He had q
4 deep cut in the shoulder blade, as if a still
| letto had been thrust into him. The shirt
| above the wound was so cut, however, that
| the wound might have been done with .
| razor.
While the police were on their way to the
| station house Mrs Romano was stretched
upon the lounge in her apartments, her life
| blood fast flowing away. Neighbors had
| summoned Dr. Pindar. When he arrived he
| Immediately ordered the woman taken to
St. Mary's Hospital. He bound the wound
SO as to try and prevent the flow of blood.
| The patrol was summoned and the woman
removed to the hospital There DR., Cha
bert bound the wound, and Father Mazzo-
| otti of st. Francis Qtalian) R. c. Church,
| who had been summoned, administered to
her the last rites of the church.
! DIR. Chabert notified the police that hs
| did not believe the woman would live. Ratio
| was taken to the woman's bedside, where
she identified him as the one who had done
| the stabbing.
| A very sharp razor and large bread
| knife were found in the street by some boys
and taken to the station house.