The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1909-12-21
LONG SENTENCE
FOR CASSESSI
Madison Italian Found Guilty
Of Murder Of Antonio
Moncante.
HIS TRIAL LASTS FOUR DAYS

Late Thursday afternoon the jury
in the trial of FeIice Cassessi for the
murder at Madison on June 9th of
Antonio Moncante, returned verdict
of murder in the second degree after
being out about two hours. Supreme
Court Justice Charles w. Parker SEN
tenced Cassessi to fourteen years in
state prison for murder and three
years for carrying concealed weapons,
sentences to run concurrently.
Former Judge Willard w. Cutler
finished his defence on Wednesday
and Thursday was spent by his sum-
ming up and that of Prosecutor
Charles A. Rathbun together with the
charging of the jury by Justice Par
ker. During the latter Cassessi broke
down and wept but when brought into
court to hear the jury's verdict he had
regained his composure and heard it
without outward sign of emotion.
1t was late Tuesday afternoon before
Prosecutor Charles A. Rathbun rested
for the state and former Judge Will
lard w. Cutler, Cassessi's counsel, had
time only to make his opening address
to the jury and put on the stand two
witnesses to testify to Cassessi's good
reputation in Madison, before court
adjourned for the day.
Judge Cutler told the jury of its
ability to bring in. "a verdict of murder
in either the first or second degree, OF
manslaughter or acquittal under-the
Indictment and asserted that as usual
there were two sides to the story. He
recited how Cassessi had lived in Mad
ison for several years, borne a good
reputation for being law abiding cit
izen and had worked for Madison peo-
pie and had the good will Of his en-
ployers. He had never been charged
with crime before, in this country or
in Italy, and had lived peaceably un-
til about three months before the date
OF the murder, when he was threat
ened by Dominic Fico and went to the
Madison police and complained against
Fico.
j udge Cutler then unfOlded the
theory of the defence by asserting
that on the day of the murder Cassessi
met Fico and the latter referred to his
previous conversations with Cassessi
and angrily demanded that Cassessi
desist fran paying attentions to An
tonella Scala whose passage money to
this country had been paid by Fico.
Cassessi would not consent to this,
sale. his counsel, and Fico shot him ip
the right shoulder with a revolver.
Cassessi then drew his revolver, so the
counsel's story goes, and fired two
shots In the air and Dominic fired sev
eral shots at him and then ran away
Cessessi then went down East street
and met the Scala woman. He told
her that he was going to tie police
and complain that Fico ad shot him.
This made the woman angry, as Cas-
sessi tells it, and she called upon some
of her friends who we're nearby. They
set upon Cassessl and threw him to
The ground, kicking and pummelling
him. Cassessi asserts he was in fear
of his life and says he heard one man
say, g Let me kill him." He drew his
revolver again and fred shot straight
up in the air to scare away his assail-
ants after he had threatened to shoot
if they did not let him up. They went
away then and he ran, not knowing,
he asserts that he had shot anybody.
Judge Cutler asserted that Cassessi
had no animosity against the man
killed and if he shot him it was an ac-
cident and without intent.
Many witnesses were examined,
thirty-one of them being Italian resi-
dents of Madison. Vincent Azzara,
the official court interpreter and local
/. teacher of the Italian language, acted
as intarnretar for manV of them