HISTORY OF THE CASE

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 8, 9 July 1912, Page 7

HISTORY OF THE CASE

The murder was committed on sth June, 1906, and, though most of the arrests were made within a year, four years and a half elapsed before the alleged criminals could be brought to justice. Both the victims and the persons who are accused of compassing their death were typical figures of the existing Camorra of Naples, which, though greatly fallen away from its old importance, still exercise* a very considerable influence in Neapolitan life', especially among the lower classes. When, finally, the «ase seemed complete, and it was proposed to bring the accused to trial, it was found impossible to hold that trial in Naples, since neither juries nor witnesses could be depended upon in an environment still dominated by . the Camorra. The case was first transferred to Rome, but, owing, it is said, to the want of suitable accommodation in the new Palace of Justice, it was finally transferred to Viterbo. A CRIME OF' REVENGE. The story of the crime is otherwise pimple enough, if one can trust the evidence given by the informer, a certain Abbatemaggio,. himself one of ' the accused and a Camorrista. On sth June, 1906, the body of Gennaro Cuocolo was found on tho seashore near Torre del Greco, bearing the marks of thirty-nine wounds inflicted with stabbing instruments, besides other bruises. The same day the body of hie wife, Maria, was found in their house in the Via Nardones, also stabbed to death, with at least fourteen wounds. The room had been rifled, and a watch and some jewellery were missing, but it was evident from the ferocity of the double crime that revenge, and not robbery, was the motive. Gennaro Cuocolo was known as a receiver of stolen goods, his wife was formerly a procuress, and the couple enjoyed the respect and consideration of their neighbours as quiet, well-to-do people, not without influence in Camorra circles. The police — Pubblica Sicurezza — began their enquiry, and reported at once that the murder was the result of a Camorra quarrel, naming four men as chiefly implicated, three of whom were among tho number standing their trial. But these men were not then arrested., and, for some unexplained reason, the police abandoned the trail, and, acting on evidence supplied by the Camorra itseU, arrested two former convicts, who were proved to have nothing to do with tho matter. Under the guidance 'of Don Giro Vittozzi, the pursuit soon plunged deep into a tortuous maze of perjury and strayed far from the reaj culprits. Then the • Carabinieri took up the running on the original scent, and, in spite of every obstacle put in their way, carvied it through to the end. According to the evidence upon which tho prosecution relies the story is as follows : — On 26th May, 1906, a meeting of Camorrkti- was held at a trattoria in Bagnoli, at which were present many leaders of the Camorra. Before this tribunal one of these, Enrico Alfano, bettor known as Erricone, denounced the Cuocolos for the betrayal of a comrade-^ Arena, who was suffering penal servitude in consequence. The tribunal decided that Cuocolo deserved death, and that his wife had better be suppressed also, as, sharing her husband's' secrets, she knew too much. A certain Nicolo Morra was told off to make the necessary arrangement*). As the result of these Cuocolo was enticed from his bouse to a spot on the seashore near Torre del Greco, where he was assailed by Morra and three others — di Gennaro, Sortino, and Cerrato - with weapons which correspond to the wounds found on the body. The four jumped into a hired carriage which they had kept waiting, and galloped back to Naples. Here Sortino left the others, and, accompanied by another man, Salvi by name, went to the Cuocolos' house in the Via Nardones, where they murdered the wife, whom they found in bed. THE CAMORRA. The Camorra, the union of disputatious persons, is a" secret society which for many years dominated Naples. Originally, so far ac can be traced, a league of prisoners, formed for good fellowship and mutual aid, it gradually spread through many branches of Neapolitan society. There was a grand ma6tor, whose name no one was supposed to know, and a court of judges,' picked from the twelve branches of the league. Each branch was composed of a number of semi-independent groups, politicians, blackmailers, smugglers, or thieves. The judges mot in secret and sentenced in secret. Those who refused them obedience died, as a long Ji6t of unpunished murders testified. The old Camorristi were helped, criminals in its ranks mysteriously escaped punishment; and respectable citizens submitted 'to its blackmail rather than fight it. It hung like a shadow over Naples. With tho coming of popular suffrage the Camorra found a wider field. It entered local .politics and carried all before it. Shady contractors became its allies, and the local administration of Naples under Camorra influences became notorious throughout Italy. Affairs reached such a pasß that the Government appointed a Royal Commission of Enquiry, and the report presented to the Minister of the Interior in lgoi hy Senator Sardello bore out the worst that had been feared. For a time the political influence of the Camorra was checked. Thirty-two men were arrested in connection with the caee. The police, fearing that an attempt would be made to rescue the prisoners, erected a largeiron cage in the Court iv which to place them during their trial. A smaller one was also fitted up for .the protection of the informer, against any attempt to murder him while he was giving his evidence.

Woods' Peppermint Cure you can't deny A dozen ailments can defy ; Your system it .will fortify 'Gainst cough _ and cold1 think a umn is very dcitie. If he'll not bpervd a few uiuail peuoo On a. remedy which is defeuco, And bin atronfhoid.-Advt, '