Evening star., 1946-06-01
Vinci Found |nnocen'
In Trailer Murders,
Guilty Of Robbery

An all-male District Court jury,
after celebrating late yesterday for
an hour and a half, acquitted 80
year-old Joseph Vinci, Bronx, n. Y.
machinist, of double murder, but
found him guilty of robbery.
Justice Alexander Holtzoff, who
presided at the seven-day trial,
which began May %, was prepared
to sentence Vinci Immediately, but
the defendants counsel, William A.
Gallagher, asked for more time for
consideration. The jurist then an
nounced that he will sentence Vinci
at 10 am. on Thursday. The rob-
berry charge can bring sentence
of S to Is years.
Mr.. Gallagher announced he would
file a motion for new trial. The
lawyer told newspapermen later that
Vinci was very much upset over the
verdict" expecting acquittal on all
counts Of the indictment.
Witness Against Connors.
Vinci testifieO in February before
another District Court jury as the
principal Government witness
against his co-defendant, Raymond
F.. Connors, 80, of Yonkers, N. Y,
who was acquitted of both murder
and robbery. Both defendants were
tried under the same indictment.
They were charged with numbering
Edward Barker and Pany Casbarian
in a trailer Office on parking lot at
Fourteenth and N streets NV,
about I pm. on February %, 1945.
The prosecution said that Barker
was robbed, also. but not Casbarian.
The jurors got the case yesterday
afternoon at 3:27 and announced at
S pm. that they were ready with
verdict. Vinci walked into the court
room looking very pale.
There was a seven-minute wait
until attorneys could be assembled.
Vinci seemed to age perceptibly.
When the jury's foreman, Thomas
H. j. Wallace, said that they found
Vinci innocent of the murder counts
in the indictment, Vinci looked ap-
preciably relieved. The guilty ver-
dict on robbery was then announced.
The prosecutors, Assistant United
States Attorneys Charles B. Murray
and William Hitz, contended that
Mr.. Barker had been robbed of some
$1,000, watch and ring; that Con-
nors gave Vinci $110 at Union Sta
ton after the crime and that Vinci
aided Connors in getting the stone,
allegedly taken from the ring, ap-
praised in New York, taking it to a
jeweler.
Holtzoff Thanks Jurors.
Justice Holtzoff thanked the
jurors. for your arduous labors," I"
adding:
"I have no doubt as to the justice
OF both of your verdicts," said the
jurist.
In his closing address to the jury
yesterday afternoon, Mr.. Murray
said: Il express the hope that you
will not feel impelled to bring in
a verdict of guilty of murder in
the first degree. But I am conf
dent you will not repeat that conf
cal travesty on justice the prior
jury committed in freeing Con-
nors."
In his argument to the jury, Mr.
Gallagher asked it to free Vinci
and let the District Attorneys Of
flee indict the defendant for extor-
ton, attempted extortion or conspir-
acy to extort and promised that
Vinci would not have to be tried
on that. He indicated that Vinci
would plead guilty to that. Vinci's
story was that he and Connors
came to Washington to shake
down" a "showoff' who was flashing
around some easy money; that he
knew of no plan to kill anybody
and had learned later that Mr..
Barker was a witness against Con-
nors in a stolen car case. Connors
later told him, he said: "No wit
ness, no case," and in the trailer,
Connors burst in with a gun and
killed the two men.
Vinci's wife, his half-brother and
his stepfather, Leo Licari of New
York, were in the crowded court
room when the verdict was returned.
1t was said that at the time of
the Connors trial, Vinci offered to
plead guilty to second-degree mur-
der, but the authorities declined to
accent that n1ea AZ that time