New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-10-23
November Grand Jury to
Go Fully Into Conditions
During Osborne Rule.
30 ASSAULT CASES
WILL BE HEARD FIRST
Bringing Willett, Ex-Welfare
League Judge, from Comstock
Indicates Scope.

- rom a -talT AHTfe>t~flENlN " INV iit"-..'l
White Plains, n. Y, Oct. "a
thorough investigation OF conditions in
Sing Sing prison during the regime OF
Thomas Mott Osborne will be under
taken here by the November grand jury
of Westchester County, The Tribune
was informed by one in authority to-
day
District Attorney Frederick f. Weeks
who will conduct the Investigation, re
fused to say what the full scope Of the
inquiry would be.
"All | will say" he stated. "is that
on Monday, November 8, the grand jury
will take up the recent stabbing ARRAYS
in Sing Sing, together with other cases
of felonious assault that are alleged 70
have occurred among the prisoners.
Some of the charges made against
the present Sing Sing management 70
District Attorney Weeks are:
Assaults Frequent Is Charge.
That felonious assaults. stabbings
attacks with iron bars and like incl
dents are Of common occurrence.
That these assaults were not reported
20 the civil authorities, but were dis
posed of by a court and jury made uT
of convicts.
These alleged assaults. 1t is stated
we're not called 10 the attention OF th'
District Attorney by Warden Osborne
The names of the men assaulted anC
the account of their treatment by th'
prison physicians were taken from the
prison hospital records.
Other information has been laid be
fore District Attorney Weeks descrio
ing certain conditions in the prison al
revolving.
That the investigation will be thorough
was indicated when William Willett
former Representative in Congress
from Queens, who bought a Judicial
nomination from Joseph Cassidy, wa:
brought down to the Westchestel
County Jail from Comstock prison
Yesterday on a writ Of habeas corpus
Willett. who was assaulted in Sins
Sing because of a verdict he rendered
as Judge of the Mutual Welfare
Leagues court, will be one OF the CHIEF
witnesses before the grand jury.
Il is probable that John b. Riley
State Superintendent of Prisons, also
will be a witness. Whether Warden
Osborne will be called depends, it is
said, on the trend OF the investigation
II is believed that the November
grand jury will sit for three or four
weeks investigating the Sing Sing SIT
uation. Thirty cases of felonious as
sault will be presented for action first
Were there no other charges, 1t Is as
serted. the testimony adduced in these
cases alone would lead TO a thorough
inquiry into affairs at Sing Sing.
Five Indicted for Escape.
To-day the October grand jury OF
Westchester County indicted FIVE con.
victs who escaped from Sing Sing. All
but one took French leave Of tbs
prison during Warden Osborne's term
The maximum term for escaping from
prison is seven years.
Four Of the indicted convicts are
still at large. The one recaptured ia
Daniel O'Day.
The other indicted men are Louis
f. Pillods, white SLAYER, serving a nine
teen-year term; Rocco Scalzo, white
SLAYER; Frederick Spence, murderer
sentenced for life; John Rizzo, in for
assault. Scalzo, il is said, wrote to
the warden that he WAS sorry he was
compelled to escape, but he wanted to
go back 70 Italy, where ne has fam
lily to support.
Meantime DR.. Rudolph Diedling, OF
the State Prison Commission. has been
investigating conditions in Sing Sing
Or. Diedling has examined several OF
the convicts who were transferred
from Sing Sing to Dannemora this
week. He will visit Sing Sing again
early next week, and will then make
a rennrt TO Superintendent Riley.