The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-01-09
AN ALLEGED MURDERER CAUGHT
Two Italians, said to Have ssransIed
q Man. Arrested Here


Dominica Pegonia, of No. 159 Essex
street, Orange and Mellilo Sabine, of the
same address, two supposed italian mur-
derers, are prisoners at Police Head
quarters. They are charged with having
strangled an Italian, whose house in
Elizabeth street, New York, they were
robbing. The murder was committed
last November. Who the victim was or
the circumstances of the murder Chief
Murphy does not know.
After the murder was committed
Pegonia and Sabine disappeared from
their regular haunts. Detectives Petro-
sino and BouviI. of New York, traced the
men to this city, but all efforts to To-
cate them were fruitless
Yesterday while securing the lower sec
ton of New York city, Petrosino and
Bouvil ran across an italian whom they
knew to be intimately acquainted with
Pegonia and Sabine. The followed the
Italian and were surprised to find him
enter a store that is famous for the
manufacture of Knockout drops. The
Italian bought bottle of the drops and
then returned to this city. He was fol-
lowed by the detectives to a house in
Morris street, where they subsequently
learned Pegonia and Sabine were in hid
ing.
Bouvil shadowed the house while Petro-
sino went to Police Headquarters and
secured the assistance of Detectives Nc
Nally and Pearson. Together they went
to the Morris street house and nabbed
the alleged murderers. The third man
had left the house without being dis
covered.
When searched at Police Headquarters
a bottle containing Knockout drops was
found in Sabines possession 1t was the
bottle that had been bought for him a
few hours before by his Italian acquaint-
ance.
The only information the police Of this
city have concerning the strangling is
that while robbing the house in Elizabeth
street the owner was awakened. En-
countering the intruders, who are said to
have been the prisoners, they set upon
him and strangled him. Sabine and
Pegonia are held pending requisition pro-
ceedinYs.
The murder for which Pegonia and
Sabine were arrested was committed on
the night of December IL. Their victim
was Sabati Di Saliva, so years old, Of No.
50 Mulberry street. New York. The night
the murder was committed, two men,
supposed to have been the prisoners, in
duced Di Saliva to accompany them to
No Is Baxter street to see a girl No
sooner had Di Saliva entered the house
than he was seized, strangled and rob-
bed of S18 and a gold watch and chain.
He; became unconscious and his assail-
ants made their escape. An hour later
he recovered consciousness and going to
the Mulberry street station, was telling
of the occurrence when he tainted. He
was taken to 4he Hudson Street Hospi-
tai, where he died the following day of
broken windpipe.
Last Thursday Detectives Bonoil and
Petrosino learned from a Mulberry street
druggist that Pegonia had sent there for
Knockout drops. Pegonia had also sent
a message to the druggist that if the
drops did their work properly there would
be $1,000 in it for him. The detectives
followed Pegonia's messenger and trap
ped him as told above.
At moon today Salvatore Broco and
Donata Salvani friends of Di Saliva, iden-
titled Pegonia as the man they had seen
with him the night the murder was
committed. Pegonia is notorious and
dangerous crook and has figured in many
scrapes in which Knockout drops played
a prominent part.