a ANNALS OF CRIME THE INNOCENT MAN AT SING SING ARLY jn the evening of Decem- ber 8 1988, «young man named Philip Caruso went outdoors for the first time in two weeks. He had ne to bed withthe grppe on Thank tiving Day and had stayed there for torslve days before che family doctor ted him hecould get upand meve about the heuse. He had stayed indoors for tow move days, reading magazines and listening to the radio. He lived with his father and mother, five of his seven brothers, and a aster in a one-Eamily house at 1957 Seventyeninth Street, Brooklyn, He had « fever blister on the right side of hi upper lip and he felt shaky from being in bed so long, but he was glad to get out of the house at lst. Hewentstrnighttoacafeteria on Twen= wieth Avenue and Bighe-xth Stet, ‘there he thought he might find some of his friends —eleris, office boys, and such who lived in the neighborhood. "He found three or four of them at the cafe= teria, as he had heped, and sat down ‘with themn. He drank come coffe and they talked about the hockey matches then geing on at Madcon Square Gar= den, He remembers all this disney, for it was while he was sitting there in the cafeteria talking with his friends, that two police detectives came in and rested him on a charge of first-degree robbery, accusing him of having taken prt in's holdup in July, four months before. He remembers the fever blister particulary; it was «singularly unfoe= tunate Hemish as things turned out, Al- though Caruso was 28 innocent of this crime as Chief Justice Hughes he was tried, convicted; and sent to Sing Sinz to setvea sentence of from ten to twenty years “The police the prosecuting authori= ties, and the judge who had sentenced Caruso found out thst he was inno- cent after he had spent eight months in prion. After another month, during which considerably more time and ef= fore were put forth to make sure of his innocence than had been expended at bis tril in establishing his guy he was set free. Caruo’s teal attracted no public attention whatever, Ie was one ff fitycodd trials during that month in New York City in which a defendant ‘was convicted ofa felony. When it was found that Caruso was innocent 4 good any stories about the case appeared in Trooklyn and New York aewspapers, and there were more store when he was released from prison. “These st ries concerned themselves entirely with the circumstance whieh brought about (Carise’s discharge from prison, this be= ing simply that two young men fom the Brom confessed to the crime of which Caruso had been acewsed and were ale to convince an understandably reluctane judge that they were telling the uth. The Brooklyn Bale sttempe= eto improve on the story by publishing 1 romantic article to the effect that Caruse's girl, named Mary Senstore, hhad hunted doven the gulty partes sine elchanded and, by an emotional appeal, had shamed them into confessing, thu setting free the boy she loved, This tory ‘was later proved in court to have been a complete fake. None of the papers showed any intrest the cicumetancss whieh brought atout Caruso’sarrst and conviction in the first place, although the stenographie transcript of Carus’s hearing before a City Magistrate, his i= dicement, his esl, and the subsequent hearing which established his innocence are matters of public record, "The most remarkable thing about the (Caruso case is thar it appears to be an cordinary, run-of-theaill felony cae, ‘and an examination ofthe records leaves fone with a feling not that Caruso was Uunluckiee than any other young man similarly acused might be bue that his cease may easly be typical of hundreds of other obseure cases which are tried hurriedly, without publicity. Caruso gras arrested nn what the police euphemi tially call “information.” This means that = stel pigeon told them thet Coruso had. participated in g certain holdup, There i nothing unusual about that; police make arrests every day fn just sch evidence, and ifthe injred party i able to identiy the prisoner, the chances are he willbe convicted. Stoo pigeons are sometimes paid by the po= Ticey but more often exchange thee information” for favors. They see teilly petty criminals who age given Trmmmunity from prosecution when they tutn informer, ‘Phere i frank amie son in che record of the Caruso cose that the police helped to make the identies= tion nf Caruso appear to be more postive than it really was, and there isa sugges tion that the District Attorey’s ofce may have been cognizant of ths. ‘The defence attorney fled ty take advan= ‘tage of several epportunitics to help his client's ease which he noye may realize with regret. ‘There evidence that the smagitrate who held the prsanee forthe grand jury prevented the defence attor= ry from inquiring as deeply as he could have into the one phase of the ease which right have cat doube on the ientiicae tion ofthe prisoner by the man whe had teen held up, The tial judge appears ti have made up his mind that the de fendant was guilty and to have con- ducted the tial accordingly. At ons pint during the tal the judge called fnto his chambers the prosecutor, the de- fence atterney, and the defendant, old Caruso he was 2 Har when he said he had nothing to do with the holdup, and urged him to plead guy. This net fn the record, but Estate it asa fact be- cease the defendant says i did happen and I beliewe him, The defence attorney, ‘when T asked him about thy refused to confirm Carvso's statement, saying that what happened inthe judges cham- bors was 2 private matter; then he gave sme at instructive tll as to. why such fnactshould not be ericized. Te was an fact which might have caused 2 mistrial, nevertheless and probably seould ave done had the defence attorney not teen disnelined to violate legal etiguett: by bringing such a matter into open court. Tam tld by people who aught to know that all thie 2 not antsual pro= ceduein such eascs and, in ft, thatthe whole arial was not umisual, In order to craphasze the impression thatthe r= senaitis involved are Sgnficant only in that hey seem to e peal of the A, ied of people who handle many Bp such cases, Phave chosen not 1 Bij vsion this nares unt Thave ZA svisred eling what happened © Caruso after he was arrested SHE Case of the People of the State of New York against Philip Caruso, zs this case isappropriatcly called, epens with some testimony taken inthe ofce of an Asstant Dsarict Attorney in Brooklyn tos December 9, 1938, ‘The frst wit- hes wae one Eugene Searameling, who on July 28, 1938, was held up by ‘three men and rebbed of $1,600. Seara- rmellino i bookmaker’s Clerk work ing out of Jersey City for one of the big betting syadientes which operate there He was deving around Brooklyn that morning in hs car, making collections28 “Pm terribly worried about Steve, His car came back scithout hin?” from small fry who accept bets for the syndicate, He stopped in front of cigar store at 412 Forty-fifth Street and 2 ‘man named Lefty, who runs the store, came out and gave him $112 of the $112.40 that had been taken in at the cigar store, Sarsmllin didnt have change for s dolla, # Lefty went back into the store to get the forty cents Scaramelin wes. sitting Hehind the wheel of his ear wating forthe change when @ man came up, piled open the door on his right, and got in, pointing a revolver at bis ribs and saying, “Not a Sound, not a word, Otherwise T will Tet you Mave i.” ‘Searamellino repeated this precise quotation at the subsequent hearings and at the tri, At almest the same moment a second man opened the front door on Sceramelino’s left and got iy saying, “Move over.” ‘Ths man took the wel. A thid man got in the back and the car was driven away, with, Searamellino between the to men in front. The man on his right took all of Scaramellino’s money, including, 28 the witness ssid, “any personal money,” and kept telling him’ to look stezighe head, A few blocks away they gave the moncy to the man in back and Jet him out; then, further en, they Ke Scaramellino out’ and told him they ‘Would leave his car sumeathere i the Ieghborhood where he could 6nd ‘The heldap was smoothly, almost pox Faely,eareed out All dough his fee tinony, Searamelling referred 20 the holdup men as “the geneman on my Fight he gentleman on my lly" and “he gentleman in Back” Te dereoped that Saramellin had keer held ypence foe and nn thet ocasn had chased the bands, caprred them, and eld on to them unt the police got there, He ‘as badly injued in his ght with the hans and spent several weeks fa 3 bespital aera. Scaramelino was unale to descite to the Assitant Distict Attorney the fevn which he aid the geetleman on hi Fight had pointed at it, He aid not lowe arhether ie a a automate or a revaler. A plce detectives this point ingly took ovt his own gun and Scurnmellino wae aked, "Did the gun look like that?” He sai tid ‘Scaramllina then described the boll upmen. Tesaid he hardly saw the min in hacky “but ata glance Tacen he wa A heawy man.” His decrpsan of the rman on his ight was confused. He sid this man had on a pola abit, but he didn’t know what kind of coat. The ‘Asioant Diwrct Attorney aked sf he meant 2 sports shirt. “The collar went fver the coat” gai the witness “Thae’s Sehy Teast tell, beemuse he had a cost But the coat must have been towards ‘luc oF brown.” Scaramellino said he had never seen any of the men before the holdup but that he had seen one of them since Philip Caruso was brought in’ ehen and the Asdstant District Attorney sid to Scaramellino, “Is this the man that you identified lat night as one of the thee men who committed the erene you already told me about?” "Yeu? “And you ate postive that he i the oH A Statement ftom Caruso was thee talen, in which he soid that his nck name was Pail the Gh, that he lived ‘with his family, that he was out of work, that he was ia the habit of staying up Inte and sleeping until past noon, that he thot had anything to do. with this holdup, and that he had never been ar rested before, Te was brought out later that none of the members of his family had ever been arrested before, ether. ‘No further desription of the man on Scaramellne's right appears in the rec= ford ofthe testimony tken inthe Asst-29 ane Disvct Atomey’sofce and its not even made clear which of the three Wis EMS ten Scrsnelino elm Caruso sea. “They tld wx dragons were myth, So allay log ous the bi Thsisimportantin vw ofthe fact that Like Ypgdrsll or Avcdy We played car games inlay igh Caruss subsequent conviction rts en Or Thotumon the swarthy soth— “Peete tht ees a sees te rely on Scaramellin’s identification of Mere magic names to conjure with, And challenge him! “Dut do you dare?” him as the man on his right that there “°The cave isempty, children. Se, “Why not, you sly?” “Bye he mich” was no other evidence of any. kind ‘The opening is overgrown; “Oly who's afraid? Come forth, foul fend, against Caruso, and that Scaramellino’s T's just a fisure in the stone.” [Nor lurk in darkness ry-screened!” “entifcation was made more than four ‘months after the holdup occurred. We thought we heard—or did we heat? — A rumble through the summer day TEE, pow, moves t 2 City Stock-stil we waited, white with fear, Magistrate's Court presided over Knowing the monster would appent, by a magistrate who was in a hutry to TThen suddenly we ran away get rid of it. Caruso was represented Al thet was years and yeas ago, by an attorney whom his father hired Ouaside a cave whore green wines grow. for $25 and was being prosecuted by ‘Roperr Huyen another Assistant District Attorney, rep . . resenting the People of the State of New York. if there is any point in these questions ime since his arrest, and his gel brought At this sort of hearing the prisoner I will let you ao on with it indefinitely. him some cigarctace may be released if the magistrate de- Up to now there are generalities. Ask The grand jury then indicted Caruso cides there is mot a primafacie case the next question.” fn four eounts, charging robbery inthe against him or held forthe grand jury if The attorney gave up trying to find fist degree, gvand larceny in the frst the magitrate thinks there i, Searamel- out what Scaramellno’sjob waslikeand degree, assault inthe second. degree Tino repeated his story and this time faily rapidly got dovm to the inade- (Pointing the revolver at Searancll nade it clear thathe identified Caruso-as_quacy of Searamellin’s description of no), and kidnapring “wilfully seed, fing the man on his right in the ear, the man on his right in the exe, confined, inveigled and Kidnapped the the man with the gun. He said that “Wel,” suid the witness defensively, complainant with intent to eae, him, this man had told him to keep look» “if anybody i scared, he ain't going to without authority of law, tobe confined ing straight ahead but that he had re- look at the suit he had on of the ti.” and imprisoned within this stte and to plied, “Tam in the habit of looking in “Did you at any time see a full be kept and detained against hs wil.” the direction to whom T am speaking view of ihe defendant in the car?” The fourth count was later dropped, toy” and that having thus put the man “What & that?” passbly on the ground of averenthuse in’his place, he had been able to get a “A full view of his face?” asm, Recorded in the indictment are {good look a hima. “Well, about a three-fourths view.” 2 few more facts atout Carus his age “And this i the man who was in “What kind of ba did he have on!” is twentyefour, hi ast occupation Ws the car?” asked the Assistant Dstrict “I couldn't say my attention was that of a clerk ina frut sore, his rll Anorney, pointing t Caruso. called to the hat. don’t believe Iseen gion i Catholie, is rliginus instruce “This isthe man.” any hat beesuse TF no- tion is irregular, and “You sre sure?” ‘ced the hat on the fle hae does not use drugs “Positive.” low who was driving, T Cras-eximining Searamellino, the would havenoticed sha defence attomey tried to find out more if he had worn a hat.” about his duties as a bookmaker’s clerk "Yi don't know and the magistrate grew impatient. whether he had a hat "Step down,” the magistrate sad to the on or not?” witness. “Thar's the end of the cros “Exclude it” inter= examination,” he went on, speaking t0 rupted the magistrate the attorney somewhat incoherently. Don't keep stalking “Did you have any particular point in about the sme. thing ‘questioning you want to ask, Til let Talk about something had stayed in jai since You ask, but if you are geing to ask cke—don’t repeat” the arrest. He was rope these Kind of quéstions—that’s the end The defence attorney then moved 9 resented bya new lawyer and the Peoph of the cros-examinaton.” slismiss the case om the ground that the of the State of New York were repre “T believe T have a right to inguire People of the Stte of New York had_scnted bythe Asshant District Attomcy what took place on cha particular morn filed to prove a prima-facie case against in whe ofce the preliminary testimony ing,” said the attorney, Caruso, but the magistrate denied the had been taken the day after Caruso’ “f you tell me there is any point t9 motion and held Caruso for the grand arrest, Caruse’s father paid this new this general Tine of inguinys I will let jury in $10,000 bai, Carusn could not lawyer $400 as a fee and $30 extn, you,” replied the magisrate, while the furnish ba, so he was taken tothe Ray- with which the Laryer bought the scat Witness evidenely stepped up agnin, “but mond Street Jal, in Brooklyn. His graphic record of Carus hearing bee ‘if you take minute by minute—that brothers and siter and fther and moth~ fore the City Magistrate doesn’t mean anything. Go back, and er were permitted tose im forthe first Scaramellino was the frst witness and SIE wil of Caru- © began before a judge and a jury in the Kings County Court in Brooklyn, on March 8, 1939, alee over seven onthe after the holdup and three months after Caraso's arest. Caruso