The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-03-12
Enormous Crowd Gathers as Famous Prisoners Are
 Taken to Court Room
HAVE HELD ITALY IN
 A REIGN OF TERROR
Band Is Accused of Many Crimes, Including Murders of American Detective Petrosino and Two
 Members of Band


 including the alleged head of the or Eanization, Enrico Alfano. also known as "Erriconne." for the murder of Gen, Cuoccollo and his wife, Maria Cuti- nelii Cuoccollo, "the beautiful sorre- tina"
 For the first time in Italy two pres idents of the court were appointed to direct the trial. so that if one should unayoidably be absent the other might take his place Most of the day was given over to the election of jury but notwithstanding the threats of the presiding judge to apply the severest fines against citizens offering pretexts for not serving on the jury, almost un- surmountable difficulties arose at the last moment and the trial was post poned until Tuesday.
 The crown prosecutor strongly stig- matized such want of civic feeling whoch, he declared, If persisted in. would deprive the accused of their per- sonal liberty and their right to be tried. The auth critics intend to leave nothing undone. however, to bring the prisoners to justice and to keep out of the jury box any person thought sus- ceptible to fear engendered by the Ca- mora organization or influenced by threats from supporters of the &C., cused.
 "Erriconne, learning that the pen itentiary in Gradi belonged to the Dominican inquisitors and was the seat N of the supreme tribunal of inquisition. made complaint to the director that he also was the victim of inquisitorial methods and protested strongly against the accusation that he had inspired or directed or was in any way con Il nected with the murder of the Ameri- II can detective, Lieut.. Joseph Petrosino. | at Palmero in 1909, one of the crimes Il that the government authorities are most anxious to connect the Camorra with.
 Draws Biz Crowd At daylight an enormous crowd ,gatheIed in the vicinity of the for- iner church of San Francisco, which has a1sn tEansforined into a court of the ass1zes
 other crowds surrounded the me- dlkavel monastery of Gradi. now pen itentiary where all but two of the prisoners have been confined and the prison of San Lupara. In which the 1nformer Abbatemaggio and the wom- an prisoner, Maria Stendarro. have been held.
 There was much excitement when the vans transporting the accused appeared from under the arched doors of the fprisqn- The procession proceeded to court amidst angry murmurs of the people. Precautions were taken against | an attempt to free the prisoners, wno | had many silent sympathizers in the throng. With the driver of each van were seated a policeman and a carbi- | neer.
 Another soldier sat just inside the door. Mounted carbineers surrounded each van.
 when the doors of the court were opened as msny of the crowd as could rushed in, occupying every available place.
 A general pose of the prisoners is that of indifference, with a touch of contempt. vitoszi alone shows evidences of break ang down and in his case an effort to gain public pity Is suggested.
 Tho priest who once secured Erricon's freedom by telling the authorities that another man had confessed to the mur- ders under the seal of the confessional, was allowed, when the proceedings opened. to sit outside the prisoners cage Abbatamaggio was permitted the dis tinction of being the only one of the prisoners to go from prison to court without handcuffs.
 4 ffO0uCe TeLIO6lnO8 D I8per8
 The most interesting paper which fig ured in today's proceedings was re ! port from the New York policef part | ment concerning the arrest of Erricone in that city and what the American de- ! tectives had been able to learn about him and his associates. The report was signed by Joseph Petrosino.
 The defendants originally numbered 42 Of these three are fugitives two have vAI noA t1da roi1 11ov, <Jn pd one. Giro Alfano. 8 brother of Erricone. died in prison. t
 The revelations made by Gennaro Ab- batamaggio have been grouped under SIX heads. They were made to Marshal Cap ezzuti of the legion of carbineers in Ma pies, who. in the guise of an aspirant to membership in the Camorra, bought some information of the murders. as he said he would require 1t to hold over the heads of any member who might op. pose his entrance to "the beautifully reformed society"
 When Abattama&gio learned that lie had been. duped, he made the best of the situation by becoming a police spy and repeated his revelations in the form of a confession. As taken down by the police they are as follows:
 1. Cuoccolo was murdered in revenge by the Camorra the death sentence having been pronounced by its tribunal of high Justice.
 2. The murder was provoked by the fact that Cuoccolo had placed himself in op- position to the real head of the organixa- tion, Enrico Alfanosi. to the supreme nominal head of the Camorra, Luigi rucci, to Gennarro Ibello. head of the Camorra in the vesuvian villages; to Giovanni Rapi, nicknamed "the teacher because he had taught in the municipal schools of Naples. and to Guiseppl de Marinis, known also as O'Mandriere. or "a cattle driver" Rapi in his old age was the reputed head of . gambling house in Naples and another in Paris, near the place Dc L'etoile. He was also known as the receiver of stolen goods especially jewels, stocks and bonds, which he took to Paris to sell. Rapi and Ibellio dined with Alfano on the night of the murders Beautiful Women Murdered
 8. Maria Cuteinelli Cuoccolo. the 'heau- ful sorrentina,' was murdered immediate- ly after her husband had been killed for the reason that had she been spared she would have known whom the murderers I were and would have denounced them
 sCoxr1NUEn ox FACE ie,