The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-07-09
CAMORRISTS
ARE GUILTY
Nine Convicted of CuocoIo
Murder
IN L0NG.DRAWN OUT TRIAL
The Outcome Is Considered Triumph
of Justice--It Was Feared That
Jurors Would Fail to
Convict.
IN LONG-DRAWN OUT TRIAL

Viterbo, Italy, July 9.--The verdict il
the Camorra trial was handed down
yesterday. Nine OF the accused were
unanimously declared guilty of the muir
der of Gennaro Cuocolo and his wife
Y The remainder of the band were found
guilty of belonging to criminal asso
citation.
The president of the court immediate
ly sentenced the condemned men. Sor-
tho Merrato Salvi, Nora, Di Gennaro
Alfano Rap and Di Marinas were sen.
fenced to 80 years imprisonment and
to 10 years police surveillance; Di Mat
ito to 10 years and six months i'm
prisonment and 10 years surveillance;
Vitozzi the priest, seven years i'm
lprisonment and two years surveillance
the Others to five years Imprisonment
and three years surveillance.
When the accused men were placed in
the iron cage to hear the verdict, Di
Alarnas suddenly drew forth a piece of
glass and cut his throat. He fell to
the floor Of the cage in a pool of blood
and general pandemonium broke loose.
The other prisoners screamed like wild
animals and the carbneers had diff
culty in forcing their way into the cage
TO maintain order and carry out the
wounded Di Marinas.
The pronouneement of sentence was
received with uproarious protests from
| the condemned men. Some of them
shook their fists at the Judge and others
tore at the bars of the cage. They
attempted to harangue those assembled
| in the court.
| In addition to the police and carbineers
within the building, battalion Of troops
with fixed bayonets were drawn up out
side 1t was feared that some at
tempt might be made to rescue the
! prisoners.
| Di Marinas is in serious condition.
There is cash four inches long and
half an inch deep in his throat. The
glass severed an artery, which was tied,
but Di Marinas tore off the bandages
and reopened the wound. Surgeons
against dressed his injuries but the
wounded man declared that he was de-
termined to die.
The verdict as whole proved some
what OF surprise, and all are agreed
that the severity of the sentences is
the last blow to the Camorr6. which
has practically been annihilated since
the arrest of its leaders.
The remarkably long trial of the Ca.
morrists at Viterbo, Italy, which has
stretched out for almost a year and
u half. has now drawn to a close. Few
have believed that the Italian jury and
court would have the courage to condemn
the criminals. 1t was on March IL.
1911, that the examination of witnesses
began. This was preceded by a prelim.
mary investigation of five years. The
cause of the trial was the murder of
Gennaro Cuocolo. Camorrist, at Tore
del Greco, and of his wife, Maria Couti-
neli, in Naples Their killing was said
to have been a Camorrist execution
The following prisoners died during
the course of the long trial: c. Altoona,
who was arrested on the day of his mar
rage, and is said to have died of broken
heart; Pasquale Gargiulo and Matteo
Valcarcel, who died last June. and Giro
Vitelli, who was present at the murder,
but evaded arrest and died of the chol.
era last year.
Altogether over 700 witnesses were
heard during the trial, but notwthstand-
ing this, the prosecutions case rested
almost entirely on the testimony of
Abbatemaggio, former Camorrist and
an informer. Giro Vitozzi, Roman
Catholic priest, concerning whose alleged
double life many sensational revelations
were made, was one of the defendants.
Another was Ericone Alamo, who was
arrested in New York. This man was
the leader of the Camorrists and was
also said to be the guiding spirit of the |
Black Hand gangs in the United States. !
Owing to lack of evidence and the prac.
teal impossibility of compelling wit !
nesses to denounce the Camorrists, the |
kings procurator had to withdraw the |
charge of murder against some of the |
defendants, of whom there were 60 in |
all, and to admit that the proof of the |
guilt of some of the Others was INSULT |
Gent. Out of the % Camorrists who
were charged with such criminal asso-
citation, crime which cannot be pun
ished with more than five years inn
prisonment, IL prisoners arrested five
years ago served out their terms before
the trial and were released automat-
ically.
OF the Camorrists who were impli-
Gated in the murder of Cuocolo and his
wife or mistress, only two succeeded in
evading arrest. They were Giuseppe
opposite and Andrea Attanasio, who fled
and are supposed to be hiding in Amer
lea now. "Erricone" also fled to this
country, but he was arrested here in
New York by Detective Petrosino, whose
murder in Sicily was the Camorrist an.
swer to his activity.
During the first ten months the trial
was taken up with formalities connect
ed with the empaneling, swearing and
of the jurors and with the
hearing of evidence. In order to induce
men to serve on this jury, special law
was passed by the Italian Parliament
fixing their pay ON this one trial at Sl.40
a day. The last six months of the
trial were taken up with speeches for
the prosecution and the defense.
Originally over 30 lawyers appeared
for the defense but gradually, either
because the Camorrists had not the
money to pay their fees or because they
pretended to be poor in order to excite
1, - oxr