Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-09-21
DEATH CHAIR
ESCAPE FO|LED
Essex Murderer's Scheme to
Avoid Penalty frustrated
by Pardons Court.
NEW TRIAL REFUSED
MAN WHO KILLED WIFE
Statement of Enemy, a Life
Prisoner, Dashes Hopes
of CercerieIlo.

Awaiting death in the electric chair
at Trenton, Angelo Cerceriello con-
Vlcted wife-murderer from this coun-
", devised and put into execution an
ingenious scheme to escape the chair
and secure for himself a new trial.
his scheme succeeded in lengthening
his life two months, but failed to give
him another chance for freedom. Ger
ceriello's application to the Court of
Pardons for a new trial was refused
last week. Tt7
The sessions of the Court of Par
dons are supposed to be secret, but
enough of what happened at Cerceri-
eilo's hearing has leaked out to show
the plans of Cerceriello and explain
the courts refusal to assist him. Al
fonso Laudisi. another Essex county
murderer, whose testimony had much
to do with Cerceriello's conviction,
was the principal witness before the
Court of Pardons, and, it is believed.
his. story again killed Cerceriello's
hopes
Cerceriello was convicted last
winter of killing his wife, Alvira,
and hacking her body to pieces.
Laudisi testified that Cerceriello con-
fessed to him his guilt and told how
he committed the crime. Prosecu-
tors detectives, following Laudisi'S
story. obtained evidence of cor
roborative nature and this helped to
convict Cerceriello. He was sem
fenced to die the last week In
{ August.
A few weeks before the date set for
execution. Frank M McDermit and
William o. Azzoli, counsel for the
condemned man, heard that Laudisi
had made a statement in States
prison that he had lied against Cer-
eeriello; that his testimony at the
latter's trial was perjury. They Sc
cured a three-page statement signed
by Laudisi and purporting to be
reputation of his story in court.
With this in hand, counsel applied to
Governor Fielder for reprfeve and
it was granted
The alleged statement of Laudisi
was made. according to the date,
short time before the time set for
his death in the chair. Laudisi was
pardoned, however, and his sentence
commuted to life imprisonment, Then,
when Laudisi'S supposed statement
was produced before the Pardons
Court, Laudisi himself was called to
Tell what was written in the docu-
ment.
Laudis was surprised, 1t is said,
when Questioned about the statement
and told what it contained. He de-
AiCQ SfCi HdFAii6 iliduC lhC- ot1 @CiiNAt,
and, asked about his testimony at
Cerceriello's trial. declared that 1t was
all true. Everything he told at New
ark, he said, was the truth and every
thing in the statement was false. The
statement was handed to him by one
of the prisoners in the death house,
with the request that he sign It, AS.
he cannot read nor write, except his
own name, he simply attached his sig
nature and forgot the matter. Cons
parison, 1t is. claimed. showed the
handwriting of the body of the state
ment to be Circeriello's. y
Almost in the shadow Of the chair.
Cerceriello had thought up the scheme
to save himself and ironically, 1t
seemed, his bitterest enemy, Laudisi,
was the man selected to aid him in
cheating the law. If Laudisi had gone
to the electric chair, instead of being
pardoned, the scheme might have
worked, for then he would have been
unable to deny the truth of the state
ment or again testify against Cercer-
fello in the event of new trial