The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-04-22
.sNATCH[s EYE
FROM SOCKET
Camorrist With Glass Optic
Stampedes the Court Room
at ViterbO.
FALLS in FAINT AFTER
MAKING WILD HARANGUE
Owing to the Excitement Caused
by the Prisoner, Sitting
Is Suspended.

VITERBO, Italy, April 21.-Of al
the methods adopted by the Camorrls'
prisoners to excite sympathy or IN
cite riot, none surpassed in novelty
and effectiveness that of Gastano Es
posito, who at the end OF mad ha
rangue today tore glass eye from
his head, and hurting it at the feet
of the president stampeded the court
room Then he fell into q faint and
President Bianchi suspended the sit
ting
According to the state, Esposito. who
is known as q usurper, is a dangerous
malefactor and succeeded Erricone Al
fano as the head of the Camorra when
Alamo fed to the United States, there
to fall into the hands of Lieutenant
Petrosino He is charged with hav-
ing been ono of those who met at
Baenol; and condemned Gennaro Cuoc-
colo to death for treachery TO his as
scciates in crime.
The prisoner attempted to prove an
alibi so far as the meeting at Bagnoll
was concerned. At that time he was
travelling. he said. between Milan and
Rome. He gave a detailed account OF
his wanderings prior to the murder
of Cuoccolo and his wife and gradual
y wrought himself up to fine frenzy
He concluded IN substance as follows:
1t Is true that / concealed myself
at the time when / learned that ]
was TO be arrested l was suffering,
as I am even now, from heart disease.
In nv boyhood lost one eye. ] feared
that l would die In prison from the
maiady which had already seized me
or what would be even worse, that /
would lose my other eve,p
Here the prisoner sobbed violently,
his face in his hands. Suddenly he
raised his head. and with deft move
ment removed his glass eye and throw
ing it on the floor before the Judge s
bench. barred his face, dlsfigured with
old cuts, to the Mortified spectators.
Thus for few seconds he posed
and then with a choking cry dropped
to the floor in a faint
As Esposito collapsed a tumult was
raised. From the cage the other prs
oners cried and cursed.
One Of the iurymen. who Is R phy'
sician, went 10 the assistance of Es,,
: posito. The president then declared
the sitting suspended.
When the sitting wes resumed. others
charged with having been present When
/. the death sentence was passed upon
Cuoccolo were heard, Antonio Di Do
mlzio said he did not ask acquiItal be-
cause OF a fear of condemnation as he
. already had been in prison for "A longer
period than he now could be sentenced
10 serve. He desired acquittal, he said.
only 10 vindlcate his honor
Giovanni Bartoiozzi next was heard. He
cynically admitted he was a criminal and
spent his life between prisons and luna
tic agyums. He had been forced to live
outside prison an aggregate OF two years.
he said, and had no reason TO hate Cuoc-
colo.
Giuseppe Mnichiello violently attacked
The carabineers. calling their officers the
real heads of the Camorra.
Giuseppe Chirico said he was III the
United States when the murder of Cuoc-
colo was committed, engaged In docks In
unloading English steamer. Giovanni
Morrelli. the last OF the defendants 10
testify. said Abbatemaggio the informcr.
had made wrong identification OF him,
evidently having mistaken someone else
for him.