Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-04-14
EXECUTION OF THE eUNMEN
Four of Them Went to Electric chail
Yesterday Morninu.

The four gunner, "Dago Frank,
"Gyp the Blood" Whitley Lewis" and
Lefty Louie" who were convicted OF
the murder of Gambler Rosenthal in,
New York city, were put to death in
the electric chair at Sing Sing prison
yesterday morning. Dago Frank was
the only one to make a statement that
was in the nature Of confession. No
one of the others referred to his guilt,
nor did they mention Chas. Becker.
who was convicted as an instigator OF
the crime, but who has since been
granted a new trial. Whitley Lewis
said that he did not fire at Rosenthal;
but did not claim he was not present.
Albany, N. Y, April 13.-Shortly be-
fore "Dago Frank" Cirofici went to
the death chair in Sing Sing prison
early today he told Warden Clancy
that "Gyp the Blood" Horowitz,
Lefty Louie" Rosenberg and Harry
Vallon, an informer, fired the shots
which killed Herman Rosenthal, Tor
which crime the four gunmen paid
their lives.
80 far as l know, Becker had moth
ing to do with this case" the gunman
also declared. 1T was a gamblers 8
fight" Cirofici averred he was five
miles away at the time the crime was
committed and that Whitley Lewis
Seidenshner, although present at the
scene of the shooting, did not fire any
Of the shots. Cirofici made no at
tempt, however, to deny that he was
included in the original plot to slay
Rosenthal, even admitting that TWO
nights before the gambler was slain,
he went with the gangsters to. look
for their intended victim. They were
frightened away from Rosenthal on
that occasion by men they thought
were detectives. The condemned man
also admitted that early In the night
of the actual killing he was in the
gray murder car" with the gunmen,
but he insisted that he left them be-
fore they shot the gambler. He did
not explain precisely why he left the
other gunmen just prior to the shoot
ing, but two reasons are advanced.
One Is that he became frightened,
and the other that he deserted In
order to bail out his sweetheart Jean
Gordon, who had been arrested.
The statement which was made ver-
bally in the principal keepers office
about 4 a. m, today, was the result OF
the insistent plea on the part Of Giro
ficrs mother and his sister for the
truth. They had been here and made
an unsuccessful appeal to the govern
or to save the prisoners life.
Returning to the prison near dawn.
they were met by the warden and
taken to the Office where they met
Cirofici.
Mr.. Clancy came to Albany today
and told his story to Superintendent
John b. Riley, of the state prison
department and Governor Glynn. The
warden first issued a formal state
ment rehearsing a part Of what Giro
fici told him, and later added details
which included Ciroficis admission
that he was in the murder car" two
nights before the Staying.
The formal statement Of the warden
follows:
About 8 o'clock Sunday night
Rosenberg asked me to save Frank,
saying that he had nothing to do with
the shooting, he was not there. | went
over and asked Frank why he did not
tell the truth. He replied that he
knew what was going on, but was not
there when the shooting took place. Il
advised him to tell the whole story.
He said IL he did they would kill his
brother. / asked whom he meant by
they He replied that there were so
men in New York he could name He
said L don't care about myself, it's
my family care for
IT caused Frank Cirofici to be
brought from the condemned cell
house to the principal keepers office
about 4 o'clock Monday morning. He
made the following, among other state.
ments in the presence OF myself,
Principal Keeper McInerny, the chap
lain. his mother and his sister. They
urged him to tell the whole truth. He
hesitated and said:
81 don't want to make any state
ment for the public. 1 do not fear for
but do for you
His sister replied:
Don't have any fear for us. we will
take care of ourselves. God will pro-
tect u.s.
His mother and sister continued to
urge him to tell the truth. He said:
81 did not do the shooting. The
men who fired the shots were Gyp.
Louie'and Vallon.'
He said:
"T was five miles away at the time,
So far as 1 know Becker had nothing
to do with this case. 1t was gamb-
ler's fight
HE mentioned several raids on
gambling houses and said that the
story Shapiro told to Commissioner
was true. He said:
"I told some lies on the stand to|
prove an alibi for the rest Of the
boys. The testimony about the con-
yersation with Rose in the car on
the way down was not true. was
in Bridgey Webber's when the ar
rangements were made. l knew some-
thing was coming off. / did not see
Louie pack the trunk as l testified on
the stand. There were guns there, but
not the ones they used
when asked how he gained this
he said, 7 heard the boys
talking about 1t since l was here.
THE conversation then related tol
other matters not directly connected
with the Rosenthal murder. He ad-
mitted his knowledge Of and participa-
tion in the preparations for the muir
der but denied his presence when the
murder was committed"
According to Mr. Clancy, practical
ly everything that Cirofici said after
he started to make his firal statement
was voluntary. His defense Of Beck
er came absolutely without suggestion
from any one, the warden maintain
ed.
Cirofici's statement was not wholly
After making his state
ment to Mr.. Clancy, Cirofci almost
collapsed, and this was the cause of
the sudden switch in the wardens
plans which sent "Dago Frank to the
chair first instead Of "Gyp the Blood.
At no time, according to the war
den, did any of the gunmen except
Cirofici insist that they were innocent
of the crime of killing Rosenthal.
Whitley Lewis" always declared that
he did not fire a shot and 1t Is the
warden's opinion that his dying words
were II didn't shoot at Rosenthal."
Mr.. Clancy said that "Dago Frank"
and Whitley Lewis" always believed
that they were not as guilty Of Staying
Rosenthal as were the men who fired
the shots.
ERE-MENTION.