The Washington times., 1937-01-08
SUBWAYTHUGS
INDIGNANT AT
EXECUTION
Tough Tony UPbraids
Reporters; Pal Cries
Injustice Wins
BY JAMES L. KILGALLEN
Eye Witness to Sing Sings
Double ExecutiOn)

away and there-a foot from the
electric chair in Sing Sing-stood
the pathetically indignant figure
Of Joseph Bologna, "a, trigger
man" Of the nickel-and-dime muir
der gang.
Eyes flashing, his lips curling
with scorn, he demanded:
"Where are the newspaper
repOrters?"
Twenty or more reporters eyed
him in silence. He snarled:
"YOu gentlemen made q fine
mess of things. Put down what
you did. You called me Tough
Tony and all that. I've always
been good boy.
I'm innocent! Put that down,
too"
Thirty seconds later 1000 volts
of electricity were sent hurtling
through his body, sizzling and
cracking and almost setting fire
to the hair on his head.
Bologna died protesting.
Injustice Triumphs"
A few minutes before one Of his
pals in crime Theodore Di Donne,
31-was electrocuted. His only
words, Sheepishly spoken, were:
"This il where injustice tri-
umphS."
Di Donne died protesting, too
only more resignedly.
Two instead Of six, went to the
chair. What two days ago was
scheduled as a mass execution"
was cut down to a routine number
by the action of Governor Herbert
H. Lehman who granted reprieves
to life imprisonment to four others
in the gang-Salvator Scata, 18,
Dominick Zizzo, 27, Eugene Bruno,
%, and Samuel Kimmel, %.
All had been convicted and SEN
fenced to die for the "stick-up"
murder of Edwin Esposito, a
Brooklyn subway coin collector,
whom they killed for a little over
$240-about $40 apiece.
Gf1m spectacle
This correspondent, after view
ing the double execution last night,
came away from the drab environs
of Sing Sing prison early today
feeling low in spirit.
Half an hour before Bologna
and Di Donne walked "the last
mile" I chatted with Executioner
Robert Elliott in the prison. He
told me he had been executing
prisoners in this, and adjoining
States, for the past II years.
The reporters were summoned
into the office of Warden Lewis
E. Lawes, who is personally op-
posed to capital punishment. The
clock on the prison wall was tick
ing along toward II p. m. the
warren said, "let's CO."
Into "black mariaS" the re-
porters we're placed and driven
to the death chamber. Before
they were allowed to enter they
were carefully searched by uni
formed guards.
"SiIence" SuperfIuOus
Once in the death chamber your
eyes are drawn to a Sign-"Sil-
ence"-over the door through
which the condemned men are to
come.
The sign seemed superfluous.
The brilliantly-lighted chamber
was as silent as a tomb.
The door swung open. In came
Di Donne, a small, black-haired
man. He smiled in silly fashion,
looked around and then made his
remark about injustice triumph
ing.
Principal Keeper John j. Sheehy
mOtioned him into the chair. El-
lott stepped to an alcove to the
left and turned on the juice"
The body shot upward instantly.
Sparks emanated from the bare
right leg, the knee cap became
brick red.
The voltage flared up and died
down several times and sparks con-
tinued to shoot from the mans ex-
posed leg.
The chief prison physician, DR..
C. C. Sweet, and his assistant, DR..
James Kerney, stepped to the
chair. DR.. Sweet opened the mans
shirt front, revealing a tatoooed
chest, and applied his stethoscope.
Then he said, very quietly:
"This man is dead"
Bologna came in a minute or
so later. He made his speech as
sailing the reporters. He also said
he wanted his body sent to Dis
trict Attorney William F. K.
Geoghan, of Brooklyn and Mrs.
Murz. The latter was in the
booth at the subway station when
the gang killed EspoSito. She iden-
titled Bologna later. Geoghan
prosecuted the slayerS.
The voltage of electricity shot
Bolognia's body upward. It looked
for a moment as if his hair was
afire. Soon DR.. Sweet stepped
over. applied the StethoScope and
said:
"This man is dead"