Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1911-12-26


attorneys in the Imperio- Roberti
murder trial succeeded in getting a
jury late Tuesday afternoon, the fol.
lowing being selected: Vim. Zietlow
Emil Eggebrecht, Leo Roloff, Frank
Drake, Carl Adam and Lawrence
Doyle of Wausau; Paul Jankowski and
Fred linn of the town of Maine; B
c.. Andrews of the village of Spencer;
O. Sauter of the town of Stettin
John Springkowski of the town OF
Knowlton; Frank Holman of the
town of Holton.
On Wednesday morning Dist. Atty.
Geo. O'Connor of Villas county out
lined the story OF the crime, and OF
what the state would attempt to
prove. He cold of warrants being
issued for the prisoners, charging An
tonic Imperio with keeping house
of ill repute near Rhinelander and
Phillip Roberti with procuring in
mates for such place. OF how the
two had been warned by friends and
made their escape, later securing an
automobile and being driven to Eagle
River and their hiring a rig and driv-
Ing TO Conover to catch a train.
Sheriff John Radcliffe of Villas county
had been notified by the Oneida
county authorities to be on the look
out for them. Taking Deputies Han
son and Carter with him he located
them in Conover and arrested them.
After their arrest the sheriff went to
the depot and telegTaphed the Oneida
county authorities that the men were
being held. When he returned I'm
perio called the sheriff TO one side,
they walking around 90 the side of a
building, the deputies and Roberti
following. Imperio told the sheriff
that he could not make an arrest
without a warrant, to which the
sheriff replied that he could. He then
ordered them to drop their weapons
on the ground, if they had any. At
that point Imperio drew revolver
and began shooting. The first bullet
went into the ground, the second
struck the sheriff and passed through
his lungs, and then the weapon was
directed toward the deputies. Han
son was shot through the hip, thigh
and both legs. The revolver, which
was then empty, was snapped several
times in the face of Carter While
the shooting was going on Roberti in
terfered with the men going to one
another's aid. None of the three
officers were armed at the time. After
the shooting the Italians backed off
some distance and then ran for the
woods.
On Wednesday afternoon motion
was made by the defense to have the
witnesses of the murder excluded from
the court room while any one of them
was giving evidence, which was
granted. A motion to prohibit a wit
ness, after giving testimony, to mingle
with other witnesses to be called, was
denied
Several witnesses testified to seeing
the men run and hide at Roosevelt,
when train approached. Joe Imper-
10, a brother of Antonio, and Fred
Pappineau got off the train and made
arrangements for securing the auto to
take the party to Eagle River. In
Eagle River it was Joe Imperio who
hired the rig to take the men to Con-
over
Other witness told of the shooting
in practically the same way as related
above.
G. G. Carter, Harry Mcintyre and
IL. c. Tiedeman, who captured the
Italians two days after the shooting,
told of having surprised them on the
morning of July s. Roberti was sit
ting on log at the side of an old
tote road, his elbow on his knees and
his head buried in his hands. Imperio
was lying on the ground opposite
them. The three men approached
unobseryed until they were within a
short distance of the Italians, when
they commanded them to throw up
their hands, at the same time firing
a shot in the air. They obeyed and
implored the men not TO shoot Ly-
ing near by .3S calibre revolver. A
search Of the grounds later revealed a
large butcher knife under tree where
they had been sitting,
After the two had been placed un.
der arrest Imperio wanted to know
how many were dead When told
that Mr.. Radcliffe had died, he saiC
he was sorry he had killed him, and
that il was Hanson whom he wanted