Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1914-04-13
PAYS PENALTY FOR
ROSENTHAL CRIME
-Four Gunmen Electrocuted
in Sing Sing at Early
Hour Today.
ARE GIVEN MORPHINE.
One of the Quaternion Makes signiii-
cant Statement Before Being Strap
ped in Death Chair.

Sing Sing Prison, April 13.-Ward-
an CLANCY announced that ali gunmen
had been exedutai at 6:23 a. m.
"Dago Frank went first.
Stole to the last, although in the
early hours of their final night on
earth they had shown signs of break
ing down as they face the great un-
known, Harry Horowitz (Gyp the
B!ood), Louis Rosenberg Ne1ty
Lou:e), Frank Cirofici (Dago Frank)'
and Jacob sicdenschner (Whitie Lew
is). marched with steady feet to tnelr
.t.oom behind the "little green door" in
Sing Sing.
Paying with their lives the penalty
exacted by the State for the murder
,of Herman Rosenthal gambler, on
July Is, 1912, the men, bound by the
ties of comaudeship in trouble and IN
the face of death, died together rather
that one should save his life by
"souealing" on the other.
Each had the opportunity to win a
reprieve by telling the story OF the
workings of the system which lured
Rosenthal to his death on the eve
of the disclosure by their victim OF
police graft in New York.
New York authorities had hoped tc
the very last that one of the gunner
-Dago Frank would break down ct
rhe last moment alt@ save his .ltsh ~
telling the whole story.
They hoped to use Frank as wit
ness against Charles Becker, alleged
instigator of the Rosenthal murder
convicted and four months in the
death house at Sing Sing, but who
won what the gunmen were denied
q new trial
Franks mother in the last hour
made a, final futile appeal to HIM
to save himself.
! Small injections of morphine admin
istered, by the prison physician for
the! prpcse of lessening the resistance
to the electrical current probably hao
the effect of: paftaally stupefying the
condemned men, although they were
able to respond to the prayers C.
Tather Cashin ami Rabbi Goi:stein
and Rabbi Kopfstein, who marched
with them from their cells to the
death chamber.
The last hours of the condemnea
men We're passed in restless, ftful
sl,mbei. Until midnight all four di-
yided their time between prayer, ard
protestations. of innocence. "Whitey
Lewis" who had shaken off the stolid-
ness that had marked him since his
arrest? two years ago, appeared to be
the, strongest figure of the quartz:
and, managed by the force of his @
ample: to- keep up: the tagging spirits
of his associates.
"I ann going off an innocent man.
he repeated continually.
"Dago Frank" lay most Of the nigh
in a semi-stupor, answering in {
dazed way whatever questions were
put to him.
"Gyp the Blood" spent the early
part of the night lying on his be-
staring at the bars of the door OF MS
cell
Lefty Louie" formerly the mos
talkative of the four, had become the
most reserved, sitting for hours at
time on the edge of his bed with hi:
head in his hands "It's all right,
Whitley he exclaimed, after one 0
his cd1parion's outburst ave ai-' Al
we could. What's the use of talking
u won't get us anything. Let's thin
of other things"
Hans Schmidt, the Catholic pTies
convicted of the murder Of Anna
Amuller, joined in the prayers Of tn
fonr men during the night and b.
his fervor served to urlift their de
pressed spirits.
Only once during the night did th
condemned men speak of the execu
ton when. they te,sked one of the:
guan::s about the or5er in which the,
were to ego off" The guard was un
able to enlighten them, this matter be
ing left to the discretion of the ward