CAPITAL CRIMES The following information is posted for the sole purpose of family research within the Yahoo Group, The Court House Gang. It is not to be published to any other web site, mailing list, group, etc. without prior written permission and guidelines from the group owner, to ensure that proper credit is given to the group and all of our volunteers that helped with this project. December 14, 1930 – Joseph Mustakea, 40, Huntington township farmer-miner, was blown to pieces when he opened a package containing a bomb, believing that it contained a Christmas gift. His wife, Mary, aged 40, was critically injured and died two weeks later. Police arrested a neighbor of the dead man but released the suspect after several weeks’ questioning. December 25 – Joseph Yudoch, 38, Mocanaqua, was fatally wounded in a scuffle with his wife Josephine for possession of a revolver early on Christmas morning. It was alleged that Yudoch had been beating his wife and that she obtained a loaded revolver. He tried to take it from her and in the scuffle he was shot. The case was ignored by the January grand jury. December 28 – Mrs. Elmer J. Banta, 27, wife of the chief of police of Pringle, died in Mercy hospital of a wound suffered when hit by a bullet from her husband’s police revolver early on the morning of December 25. Mr. Banta was tried and on March 26 was found guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced ot serve a term of from 5 to 12 years in the Eastern penitentiary. January 5, 1931 – Charles Calamara, 55, Pittston township, died in Pittston hospital of bullet wounds suffered when he was shot by two men while walking along a street on the night of January 4. Eight bullets entered his body. Gaetano Morello of Pittston was tried for the crime but was acquitted by a jury. February 10 – Mrs. Simone Boccolini of Nanticoke, died in Nanticoke State hospital of bullet wounds. Her husband was tried on a charge of manslaughter and acquitted. February 14 – Albert Janetti, 36, Wilkes-Barre boxing manager, was fatally wounded, and Evan Jones was severely wounded by two bandits who held up a Lee Park saloon. Janetti and Jones attempted to disarm the bandits, who shot them and escaped. Frank “Dutch” Leonard, West Hazleton; Philip Cavan and Clement Savage, both of Wilkes- Barre, were convicted of murder in the first degree for the Janetti slaying and sentenced to life imprisonment. Raymond Schutt, alleged fourth member of the band accused of the murder, was acquitted of the murder charge but was held to face charges of robbery. While awaiting trial he escaped from the county jail with Wilfred Flood, convicted of murder of Joseph Pollard, but was later recaptured. Tried on the robbery charge, Schutt was found guilty and appealed for a new trial. The trial was refused. March 2 – Charles Licata, 38, Pittston, was shot and killed near his home. He was active in mine workers’ circles. Licata’s assailant had not been arrested when the Almanac went to press. April 5 – The battered body of Miss Minnie Dilley, 76, Forty Fort spinster, was found in the living room of her home. Several days later police arrested Mrs. Frances Thomsen, 29, of Pittsburgh, who later admitted the crime. The court appointed a sanity commission to examine Mrs. Thomsen. She was adjudged as paranoiac and was ordered committed to Retreat Mental hospital. April 15 – John Kurtinatis, 23, of Pittston, died of knife wounds suffered in a fight on April 5. Mrs. Margaret Micholovich, her husband Edward, and John Kopac were arrested. The case against Kopac was nol-prossed. Mrs. Michalovich was tried and acquitted and her husband thereupon was freed. A few days later the woman committed suicide. May 6 – George H. Bellas, 24, of Wilkes-Barre, was fatally stabbed during and argument with a fellow employee in a local bakery. George Eddy, 25, of Hanover township, was tried and acquitted by a jury. May 22 – Peter Walushin, 27, Ashley died of injuries suffered in a fight. Charles Stancavage, 22, also of Ashley, was held for grand jury action on a charge of manslaughter. The case was ignored by the October grand jury. May 30 – Mrs. Louis Bisiadocki, of Glen Lyon, was battered to death with an ax by her husband, who tried to commit suicide after killing his wife. They had been married seven months. He pleaded guilty to murder on September 22 and was remanded to jail until the court fixed the degree of crime and imposed sentence. He had not been sentenced when the Almanac went to press. June 18 – Thomas Reese, 40, Plymouth borough policeman, was found dead on a Plymouth street with a bullet wound in his head. Alex Marcinauski, 24, of Plymouth, was tried for the crime and was found guilty of second degree murder. He was sentenced to serve ten to twenty years in Eastern penitentiary. August 3 – Mrs. Mary Fedas, 467 Weir lane, Plymouth, was killed by her divorced husband, Frank Richiiy, 36, of Nanticoke. Adolph Benson, 29, Nanticoke, who was in the house at the time, was seriously wounded. When arraigned in court Richiiy pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment. October 3 – John Hreha of Milnesville, Hazle township, was fatally assaulted when he ordered a man who had been paying attention to his daughter to leave his home. Frank Yartz, 26, Milnesville, was arrested and convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to serve six to twelve years in the penitentiary. October 16 – Henry Vetter, 36, of Kingston, was found seriously injured on a street in Luzerne and died in Nesbitt Memorial hospital. Investigation showed that he had been beaten. John Povalitus, 28, of Luzerne, was arrested and tried for murder. He was found guilty of murder in the second degree and sentenced to serve from 71/2 to 15 years in Eastern penitentiary. November 16 – Bala Gall, 52, of Plains, died in General hospital of injuries suffered in a quarrel. A son-in- law, Charles Adamovitcz, 23, was arrested and charged with murder. The case was awaiting grand jury action when the Almanac went to press. Vincenzo Daminni, alias “Little Jimmy,” indicted as a fugitive on a charge of murder for the slayings of Alex Campbell and Peter Reilly, in February, 1928, was arrested in Louisianna in February 1931. He was placed on trial in November and District Attorney Thomas M. Lewis sprung a surprise by asking that the murder charge by nol-prossed and that bench warrants be issued for Daminni and his attorney, Abner Seigel, Washington, Charging conspiracy at Luzerne county prison to falsify the records at the Washington, D. C., jail. The court granted the request and Daminni was released in bail for trial in December. On January 15 Governor Fisher commuted the sentence of William Loudenberg of Parsons, convicted of second degree murder in connection with the death of Mrs. Thomas Reese in 1918. Wallace Lapinsky, sought for more than a year in connection with the killing of Joseph Pollard in a gasoline station holdup in Kingston in December, 1929, was captured in Detroit. He was returned to Wilkes-Barre and tried for the crime. On February 5 he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in the penitentiary. John Matlack, another member of the gang, was arrested in New York City in June, 1931, and returned here for trial. In September he was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Death sentence of Wilfred Flood, the third member of the gang, was commuted to life imprisonment in October. Out of State Residents During the last twelve months several FORMER local residents were slain. Below is given a short summary of each. January 18 – John T. Moore, 35, resident of Wilkes – Barre until three months prior to his death, was killed when three men held up a garage in New York City where Moore was employed as cashier. June 7 – Vincent Peter Stooks, 51, former resident of Nanticoke, was found dead along a road near Bethlehem. Police authorities expressed the opinion he had been slain. June 19 – James Cerbara, 30, former Nanticoke storekeeper, was murdered in New York City. It is believed that robbery was the motive. August 14 – Mrs. Mary Abraham Albert, 36, of Bethlehem, native of Wilkes-Barre, was fatally wounded by a boarder in a rooming house which she maintained in Bethlehem. September 13 – Mrs. Mary Levandosky, 35, and her daughter, Katherine, 14, former residents of Parsons, were slain by a lodger in the Levandosky home in New York City. Typed by Elaine Patterson and Robin Percy, May / June 2004