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99-536: After 17 months, the proceedings ended with a guilty verdict on 8 July 1912 against the 47 defendants that included 27 leading Camorra associates. They were sentenced to a total of 354 years' imprisonment. Enrico Alfano , the main defendant and alleged head of the Camorra, was sentenced to 30 years. The often tumultuous and spectacular trial attracted a lot of attention of newspapers and the general public both in Italy as well as in

198-605: A camorrista , which gave him the "right" to demand a tangente , protection money, from the merchants in the neighbourhood he controlled. Both sources agree that Alfano imposed his position when he defeated the Camorra head, the capintesta Totonno 'o Pappagallo (The Parrot) – so-named for his beak parrot nose – in a zumpata – a kind of ritual initiation knife duel – despite the fact that his adversary sent his Mastino dog to attack Alfano. The conflict started when Pappagallo returned from prison and found Alfano in control of his former territory. Other sources mention that after

297-672: A 1901 investigation report by the Ministry of Interior – known as the Saredo Inquiry since it was led by senator Giuseppe Saredo ( it ) – which unearthed an extensive political patronage system in the city of Naples. However, the inquiry revealed little about the inner workings of the Camorra. According to an informer, Alfano had become the head of the Camorra after the death of the legendary capintesta (head-in-chief) Ciccio Cappuccio in 1892, although other sources disagree over his rise to power. According to The New York Times report on

396-500: A camorra priest. The drama that unfolded in Viterbo seemed to have been fashioned expressly for the new media age. Alfano claimed that he was a victim of the sensational yellow journalism . Il Mattino sent its crime expert Ernesto Serao to Viterbo and devoted two or three pages a day to the event, usually in support of the indictment of Captain Fabbroni. The editor Scarfoglio did things on

495-700: A cause of entry into the Spanish–American War due to sensationalist stories or exaggerations of the terrible conditions in Cuba. However, the majority of Americans did not live in New York City, and the decision-makers who did live there relied more on staid newspapers like the Times , The Sun , or the Post . James Creelman wrote an anecdote in his memoir that artist Frederic Remington telegrammed Hearst to tell him all

594-638: A counterattack, Hearst raided the staff of the World in 1896. While most sources say that Hearst simply offered more money, Pulitzer—who had grown increasingly abusive to his employees—had become a difficult man to work for, and many World employees were willing to jump for the sake of getting away from him. Although the competition between the World and the Journal was fierce, the papers were temperamentally alike. Both were Democratic, both were sympathetic to labor and immigrants (a sharp contrast to upscale papers like

693-463: A crime of which he knew nothing. Captain Fabbroni had spent 350,000 lire to bribe key defence witnesses and leading journalists, according to Abbatemaggio. He described the case as "a setup against the leaders of the Neapolitan Camorra organized by him in accordance with the collaborators of Captain Fabbroni." However, despite serious doubts of several magistrates about the legitimacy of the trial,

792-406: A duty to improve society, and he put the World in the service of social reform. Pulitzer explained that: The American people want something terse, forcible, picturesque, striking, something that will arrest their attention, enlist their sympathy, arouse their indignation, stimulate their imagination, convince their reason, [and] awaken their conscience. Just two years after Pulitzer took it over,

891-663: A gambling stint in France opened the Unione del Mezzogiorno club in 1902 in Naples, popular among the aristocracy. Rapi and Alfano specialised in providing usury loans – at a rate of thirty per cent per week and fifty per cent per month – to merchants and gamblers, collecting extortion money, as well as procuring . He lived the good life and dressed very elegantly in Poole suits from London and Boivin shirts from Paris. He followed his rich clientele to

990-441: A grand scale: he organised filming of the hearings during the day in Viterbo, had the film transported with great speed to Naples, to screen it the next evening in the public shopping gallery Galleria Umberto I , next to the newspaper office, in mute (as sound film was not yet available), with megaphone commentary by a journalist, with an enormous influx of spectators. According to Abbatemaggio, Scarfoglio had received 40,000 lire from

1089-615: A large number of criminals. The investigation gained new momentum in February 1907, when Gennaro Abbatemaggio, known as 'o Cucchieriello because of his work as a coachman, a young camorrista and police informer serving a jail sentence in Naples, testified that the decision to kill Cuocolo had been taken at a meeting at the restaurant chaired by Alfano. From that moment on, everything contributed to reinforcing an accusatory picture not devoid of inconsistencies and gross errors. The main newspaper of Naples, Il Mattino , that sold 70,000 copies at

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1188-461: A lot of attention of newspapers and the general public both in Italy as well as in the United States, including by Pathé's Gazette . The trial was transformed from a murder trial into one against the Camorra as a whole. The hearings began in the spring of 1911 and would continue for twelve months. Fabbroni intended to use the trial to strike the final blow to the Camorra. The trial was attended by

1287-433: A major media event, so much so that it can be described as an early example of a media trial, According to historian John Dickie , the trial was the stuff of a newspaperman's dreams. Tales of a secret sect risen from the brothels and taverns of the slums to infiltrate the salons and clubs of the elite. Police corruption and political malpractice. A cast of heroic Carabinieri, villainous gangsters, histrionic lawyers and even

1386-665: A member of the ship's crew, posing as a stoker . In New York he began to run a gambling den in the basement of 108 Mulberry Street , the heart of Manhattan's Little Italy . He became one of the primary underworld targets of police sergeant Joseph Petrosino of the New York City Police Department , who believed Alfano to be a big player in the New York branch of the Camorra . Petrosino received anonymous letters from Neapolitans in New York that confirmed Alfano's presence in

1485-612: A notorious burglar, although he descended from leather merchants; Cutinelli came from prostitution. He was murdered on the beach at Torre del Greco ; she, a few hours later, in her new house in Via Nardones, between Via Toledo and the Quartieri Spagnoli in Naples. The motive was, almost certainly, a breach of the criminal code of the Camorra. Cuocolo had appropriated the share due to the thieves who had ended up in prison, who then took revenge. The murder case would develop into one of

1584-463: A report of the New York Tribune . According to The New York Times , the men "acted like wild beasts." One defendant shouted: "We are innocent. This is legal assassination." Some of them shook their fists at the judge and others tore at the bars of the cage where the defendants had to attend the trial. The condemned priest, Vitozzi, knelt praying and wept. "All the prisoners acted like maniacs,"

1683-434: A socialist candidate. Alfano, Rapi and Vitozzi were seen and photographed while actively directing the vote in favour of Count Ravaschieri in the Camorra controlled district of Vicaria in which Ciccotti surprisingly had won in 1900. Ravaschieri won the 1904 election. Alfano was charged with the murder of Gennaro Cuocolo and his wife, suspected of being police spies, on 6 June 1906. The murder case would develop into one of

1782-464: A system of political patronage ran by what the report called the "high Camorra" and the relations of the Camorra with Mayor Celestino Summonte and deputy Alberto Casale. In 1904, Alfano had been implicated in the active campaign of the Camorra against socialist deputy Ettore Ciccotti , who lost the election. A member of the jury at the trial, the German language teacher Emilio Donatelli, who had voted for

1881-585: A tourist attraction for Americans, and Fabbroni was showered with love letters. Arthur Train , who as a former assistant to New York County District Attorney William Travers Jerome had dealt with Italian criminals that had emigrated to the United States and the Black Hand extortion rackets, also attended the Cuocolo Trial to study the organisation and the functioning of Italian justice. According to Train, U.S. newspapers "indulged in torrents of bitter criticism at

1980-430: A variety of topics, such as sports and scandal, using bold layouts (with large illustrations and perhaps color), heavy reliance on unnamed sources, and unabashed self-promotion. The term was extensively used to describe two major New York City newspapers around 1900 as they battled for circulation. Journalism historian Frank Luther Mott used five characteristics to identify yellow journalism: Another common feature

2079-526: A war correspondent, providing sober and accurate accounts of the fighting. Creelman later praised the work of the reporters for exposing the horrors of Spanish misrule, arguing, "no true history of the war ... can be written without an acknowledgment that whatever of justice and freedom and progress was accomplished by the Spanish–American War was due to the enterprise and tenacity of yellow journalists, many of whom lie in unremembered graves." Hearst

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2178-584: The New-York Tribune ' s Whitelaw Reid , that blamed poverty on moral defects ). Both invested enormous resources in their Sunday editions, which functioned like weekly magazines, going beyond the normal scope of daily journalism. Their Sunday entertainment features included the first color comic strip pages. Hogan's Alley , a comic strip revolving around a bald child in a yellow nightshirt (nicknamed The Yellow Kid ), became exceptionally popular when cartoonist Richard F. Outcault began drawing it in

2277-667: The Sicilian Mafia ). Littlefield fully followed Fabbroni's line of accusation, describing the Camorra as 'the largest and most perfectly organised society of criminals on earth' that was linked to the Black Hand extortion rackets in New York; a defeat of the Camorra in Italy would mean 'the dissolution of the brains of the Black Hand in America'. The trial was attended by the former mayor of New York City, George B. McClellan , in whose administration Petrosino had been killed. The trial even became

2376-491: The Sicilian Mafia . Alfano was accused of being the man behind the murder of rival Camorra boss Gennaro Cuocolo and his wife. The trial against Alfano and his associates in Viterbo in 1911–12 , expanded from a murder case into a tribunal against the Camorra and attracted a lot of attention of newspapers and the general public both in Italy as well as in the United States. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison in July 1912, and despite

2475-621: The Tribune and the New York Evening Post . Moreover, journalism historians have noted that yellow journalism was largely confined to New York City, and that newspapers in the rest of the country did not follow their lead. The Journal and the World were pitched to Democrats in New York City and were not among the top ten sources of news in regional papers; they seldom made headlines outside New York City. Piero Gleijeses looked at 41 major newspapers and finds: War came because public opinion

2574-477: The Tribune report said, and the guards had difficulty maintaining order and carry the wounded Di Marinis out of the cage. A battalion of army troops with fixed bayonets stood outside the courthouse out of fear that there would be an attempt to liberate the prisoners. The Cuocolo Trial dealt the Camorra a decisive blow. The historical Camorra would disappear after the trial and, in its traditional form, would no longer appear. According to Camorra legend not long after

2673-555: The World became the highest-circulation newspaper in New York, aided in part by its strong ties to the Democratic Party . Older publishers, envious of Pulitzer's success, began criticizing the World , harping on its crime stories and stunts while ignoring its more serious reporting—trends which influenced the popular perception of yellow journalism. Charles Dana , editor of the New York Sun , attacked The World and said Pulitzer

2772-459: The World in early 1896. When Hearst hired Outcault away, Pulitzer asked artist George Luks to continue the strip with his characters, giving the city two Yellow Kids. The use of "yellow journalism" as a synonym for over-the-top sensationalism thus started with more serious newspapers commenting on the excesses of "the Yellow Kid papers". Pulitzer and Hearst in the 1920s and 1930s were blamed as

2871-621: The yellow press are American newspapers that use eye-catching headlines and sensationalized exaggerations for increased sales. The English term is chiefly used in the US. In the United Kingdom, a similar term is tabloid journalism . Other languages, e.g. Russian ( Жёлтая пресса zhyoltaya pressa ), sometimes have terms derived from the American term. Yellow journalism emerged in the intense battle for readers by two newspapers in New York City in 1890s. It

2970-414: The 1890s were much less concerned with distinguishing among fact-based reporting, opinion and literature." Pulitzer, though lacking Hearst's resources, kept the story on his front page. The yellow press covered the revolution extensively and often inaccurately, but conditions on Cuba were horrific enough. The island was in a terrible economic depression, and Spanish general Valeriano Weyler , sent to crush

3069-460: The 1890s, and discovered the larger the circulation base, the better. This drove Hearst; following Pulitzer's earlier strategy, he kept the Journal ' s price at one cent (compared to The World ' s two-cent price) while providing as much information as rival newspapers. The approach worked, and as the Journal ' s circulation jumped to 150,000, Pulitzer cut his price to a penny, hoping to drive his young competitor into bankruptcy. In

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3168-561: The Carabinieri to support their version of the trial. The trial not only made headlines in Italy, but worldwide, and there was substantial official and media attention in the United States, from New York City in particular. The principal defendant, Enrico Alfano, had been linked by New York Times correspondent Walter Littlefield to the murder of New York police lieutenant Joe Petrosino in Palermo in 1909 (the murder has since been attributed to

3267-661: The Celebrated Hostelry – Particulars and Supposed Origin of the Fire. Hearst could be hyperbolic in his crime coverage; one of his early pieces, regarding a "band of murderers", attacked the police for forcing Examiner reporters to do their work for them. But while indulging in these stunts, the Examiner also increased its space for international news, and sent reporters out to uncover municipal corruption and inefficiency. In one well remembered story, Examiner reporter Winifred Black

3366-559: The Court of Assizes in Viterbo , 250 kilometres from Naples and 80 kilometres north of Rome. The transfer of the defendants from Naples to Viterbo in January 1911 led to riots and fears for attempts to liberate the prisoners. Funds to pay the defendant's lawyers were reportedly collected in Naples and from Neapolitan restaurants in New York. The amount collected was 50,000 lire, or US$ 10,000, at

3465-531: The Cuocolo murders. On 27 March 1909, the Assistant Public Prosecutor committed 47 persons for trial by the Court of Assizes in Naples. However, due to many attempts to corrupt the authorities and other obstacles the trial was transferred to the Court of Assizes in Viterbo , 250 kilometres from Naples and 80 kilometres north of Rome. The often uproarious and spectacular Cuocolo trial attracted

3564-545: The Cuocolo trial in 1911, Alfano was below medium height but a man of commanding presence; across his cheek he bore a long scar, the sfregio (a knife slash for dishonour; a sign of Camorra punishment). The New York Times reported that he was arrested many times as an accomplice in homicide, robbery and less important charges, but had never been convicted. According to the Italian newspaper La Stampa , Alfano did spend six or seven years in prison, where he earned his initiation as

3663-508: The Cuocolo verdict, on 25 May 1915, a few remaining camorristi met in the Sanita area of Naples and disbanded the organisation. The trial also confirmed the Camorra’s social marginality and political subalternity to the ruling powers in the kingdom of Italy who, after using it, had no difficulty in eliminating it. Many legal experts, both contemporary and later, advanced doubts about the regularity of

3762-463: The Naples police – to publicly confess the murder, which he refused to do. In subsequent years, the requests for pardon came before Benito Mussolini one by one. In his own hand the Duce wrote on those instances: "Provisions should be individually, ranging measures over time." Alfano was granted a conditional release for good behaviour on 16 October 1934, after serving 27 years of his sentence. The trial became

3861-766: The Trembling Guests with Savage Fury. Appalled and Panic-Stricken the Breathless Fugitives Gaze Upon the Scene of Terror. The Magnificent Hotel and Its Rich Adornments Now a Smoldering heap of Ashes. The Examiner Sends a Special Train to Monterey to Gather Full Details of the Terrible Disaster. Arrival of the Unfortunate Victims on the Morning's Train – A History of Hotel del Monte – The Plans for Rebuilding

3960-404: The United States, including by Pathé's Gazette . In 1927, the main incriminating witness retracted his version of the facts, but Italy's dictatorial Prime Minister Benito Mussolini did not authorise the revision of the trial. Gennaro Cuocolo and his wife, Maria Cutinelli, were murdered on 6 June 1906, suspected of being police informers, and opposing the Camorra leadership. Cuocolo was, in fact,

4059-523: The basis of Vitozzi's declarations and the testimony of Giacomo Ascrittore, a regular police informer and member of the Camorra, the local police and judiciary of Naples identified Gaetano Amodeo and Tommaso De Angelis, two receivers and former collaborators of Cuocolo, as the real killers, because Cuocolo had refused to share the proceeds of a jewellery theft. Captain Carlo Fabbroni of the Carabinieri ,

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4158-457: The case was never reopened. In 1930, a request for pardon was made by the Neapolitan newspaper Il Mattino , which at the time of the trial had strongly supported the work of Fabbroni and the prosecution. Alfano's sister, Rosina Alfano, tried to convince the suspected real killer Gaetano Amodeo – who privately admitted to have been the slayer and had been identified as such by the first inquiry of

4257-459: The casinos in Nice , Montecarlo and Aix-les-Baines in the spring. Even the Naples lighting company paid protection money to prevent their wires being stolen. From the traditional ranks of criminals, a new brand of sophisticated camorristi evolved: the 'elegant camorra' or 'camorra in straw-yellow gloves' (in guanti gialli ) that moved among the affluent strata of Neapolitan society and provided them

4356-470: The challenges coming from all sides, and all the inevitable quarrels that so abundantly flourished in the meetings of the bosses, he did not keep the position. Challenged by Gennaro Cuocolo, he was deposed and Luigi Fucci, known as ' O Gassusaro , became the nominal head, the capintesta , of the Camorra, while Alfano remained head of the Vicaria section. While Fucci was the nominal head, Alfano apparently remained

4455-472: The city, where he allegedly had given a banquet to several local Camorra members in a Grand Street restaurant. On 17 April 1907, Petrosino and his agents raided the apartment at 108 Mulberry Street where Alfano was living and arrested him. The arrest caused a sensation in Naples. He had been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude in Italy and was turned over to the Federal authorities. Within three days he

4554-470: The death of Cappuccio, Giuseppe Chirico , 'o Granatiere (The Grenadier), from the Porta San Gennaro neighbourhood was elected. Although the conclave of the twelve district heads had decided in favour of Chirico, another popular leader, Totonno 'o Pappagallo , with many followers, contested the election. The matter was settled in a zumpata . Chirico, due to his inexperience with weapons, was wounded at

4653-519: The defendants convicted in the name of the moral regeneration of Naples". The trial was designed to target the Camorra and its affiliates, not the perpetrators of the double murder. In 1927, fifteen years later, government witness Gennaro Abbatemaggio withdrew his accusations. He had been forced to collaborate with Fabbroni, who had threatened to charge him the Cuocolo murders, and had arranged his release from prison and had given him money and other benefits. Abbatemaggio said he had invented everything about

4752-407: The fact that the legitimacy of the trial was seriously questioned when the main witness for the prosecution retracted, he was only released in 1934 after having served 27 years. The son of a shoemaker, Alfano began as a fruit merchant in Naples and speculating on the cattle fairs. He apparently became affiliated with the Camorra at an early age, but this is not certain because he was not mentioned in

4851-419: The first blow and, to save himself, threw the knife to the ground and declared himself defeated. After his win 'o Pappagallo was elected with all the votes, but had been sentenced to go to prison. Two of the twelve districts, Vicaria and Mercato, decided that his alternate, the young Alfano, would assume effective powers. When ' o Pappagallo left prison, he was defeated in yet another duel by Alfano around

4950-406: The first to publish the term but there is evidence that expressions such as "yellow journalism" and "school of yellow kid journalism" were already used by newsmen of that time. Wardman never defined the term exactly. Possibly it was a mutation from earlier slander where Wardman twisted "new journalism" into "nude journalism". Wardman had also used the expression "yellow kid journalism" referring to

5049-484: The former mayor of New York City, George B. McClellan , in whose administration Petrosino was killed. Funds to pay the defendant's lawyers were reportedly collected in Naples and from Neapolitan restaurants in New York. The amount collected was 50,000 lire, or US$ 10,000, at the start of the trial. Giovanni Rapi, the Camorra's "treasurer", had an interest in a private bank in New York where the savings of immigrants were forwarded to Italy. The New York defence fund treasurer

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5148-621: The head of the Camorra is a legend. I was neither its head nor its tail. I admit that I have committed some excesses. What youth of my social class in Naples has not?" After a 17-month trial, the often tumultuous proceedings ended with a guilty verdict on 8 July 1912. The defendants, including 27 leading Camorra bosses, were sentenced to a total of 354 years' imprisonment. The main defendants Enrico Alfano and Giovanni Rapi were sentenced to 30 years. The priest Vitozzi received seven years and government witness Abbatemaggio five years. The jury had been held in isolation since March 1911. The reports of

5247-615: The head of the Camorra is a legend. I was neither its head nor its tail. I admit that I have committed some excesses. What youth of my social class in Naples has not?" After a 17-month trial, the often tumultuous proceedings ended with a guilty verdict on 8 July 1912. The defendants, including 27 leading Camorra bosses, were sentenced to a total of 354 years' imprisonment. The main defendants Enrico Alfano and Giovanni Rapi were sentenced to 30 years. The priest Vitozzi received seven years and government witness Abbatemaggio five years. The jury had been held in isolation since March 1911. The reports of

5346-418: The hound to pounce on his rival, and before the latter had time to fire, the dog had bitten his right hand. Erricone passed his revolver through his left hand and fired, scratching his competitor in the cheek. Pappagallo, quietly wiped the little bit of blood dripping from his cheek, and then, without a care in the world, went away, whistling. Although elected head of the Camorra, due to his reluctance to accept

5445-403: The incident, Bierce reportedly said, "I have never mentioned the matter to him, and he never mentioned it to me." Pulitzer, haunted by his "yellow sins," returned the World to its crusading roots as the new century dawned. By the time of his death in 1911, the World was a widely respected publication, and would remain a leading progressive paper until its demise in 1931. Its name lived on in

5544-422: The innovative popular " Yellow Kid " comic strip that was published first in the World and later in the Journal. This type of reporting was characterized by exaggerated headlines, unverified claims, partisan agendas, and a focus on topics like crime, scandal, sports, and violence. Historians have debated whether Yellow journalism played a large role in inflaming public opinion about Spain's atrocities in Cuba at

5643-489: The investigation and considered the trial 'false' and based on 'rigged papers' motivated to inflict a setback on the Neapolitan underworld even at the cost of falsifying evidence. The murders and trial followed a series of scandals that had exposed the infiltration of the Camorra in Naples society and the city's governance structures. The 1901 Saredo Inquiry into corruption and bad governance in Naples City Hall, identified

5742-413: The least thanks to the intervention of the priest Ciro Vitozzi, the "guardian angel" of the Camorra and Erricone's god-father. On the basis of Vitozzi's declarations and the testimony of Giacomo Ascrittore, a regular police informer and member of the Camorra, the local police and judiciary of Naples identified Gaetano Amodeo and Tommaso De Angelis as the real killers. However, the murder investigation

5841-419: The legitimacy of the trial, the case was never reopened. Abbatemaggio had invented everything about a crime of which he knew nothing. Captain Fabbroni had spent 350,000 lire to pay the witnesses, according to Abbatemaggio, and he described the case as "a setup against the leaders of the Neapolitan Camorra organized by him in accordance with the collaborators of Captain Fabbroni." In 1930, a request for pardon

5940-483: The manner in which the trial of the Camorra prisoners at Viterbo is being conducted, and have commonly compared the court itself to a 'bear garden', a 'circus,' or a 'cage of monkeys,'" with the unexpressed suggestion that if the case had been tried in the U.S. it would have been more effectively been disposed of. Enrico Alfano Enrico Alfano ( Italian pronunciation: [enˈriːko alˈfaːno] ; 1869 or 1870 – 10 January 1940), also known as " Erricone ",

6039-604: The means to enjoy their vices; at a cost. These 'gentlemen mobsters' mingled with the bourgeoisie in the Galleria Umberto I , a prestigious new arcade built as part of the reconstruction programme following the cholera epidemic of 1884 , where Alfano had his informal headquarters at the Caffe Fortunio . In 1902, the famous French vaudeville singer and dancer, and the vedette of the Folies Bergère , Eugénie Fougère , who

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6138-492: The most complicated legal cases of the early twentieth century in Italy. The police moved quickly to arrest Alfano and his brother Ciro, Giovanni Rapi, and two members of the Camorra rank and file, Gennaro Jacovitti and Gennaro Ibello. They had frequented a restaurant in Torre del Greco, in the vicinity of the Cuocolo murder. However, the investigation did not produce evidence and the suspects were released from jail 50 days later, not in

6237-423: The most complicated legal cases of the early twentieth century in Italy. The police moved quickly to arrest Alfano and his brother Ciro, Giovanni Rapi, and two members of the Camorra rank and file, Gennaro Jacovitti and Gennaro Ibello. They had been in a restaurant in Torre del Greco, in the vicinity of the spot where Cuocolo was murdered on the same day. However, the investigation did not produce reliable evidence and

6336-454: The national gendarmerie of Italy, did not think so, and decided for an open confrontation with the local police. He accused the Naples police of inefficiency, corruption and collusion with the city’s underworld. Due to political pressure, the murder investigation was delegated to Fabbroni. Fabbroni and his right-hand man Marshal Erminio Capezzuti worked relentlessly on the incrimination of Alfano and his associates by interrogating and threatening

6435-559: The news in order to drive up circulation, although the newspapers did serious reporting as well. Richard F. Outcault , the author of a popular cartoon strip, the Yellow Kid , was tempted away from the World by Hearst and the cartoon accounted substantially towards a big increase in sales of the Journal . The term was coined by Erwin Wardman, the editor of the New York Press . Wardman was

6534-422: The non-guilt of the Camorra bosses, pointed out this confusion of intentions during the trial in a letter to a judge at the Court of Cassation: "In the Cuocolo trial there was a confusion of moral and legal concepts. The thesis of the rehabilitation of Neapolitan customs and the legal thesis of the ascertainment of those responsible for the specific Cuocolo crime are two essentially different things... Everyone wanted

6633-444: The operational leader and was described as "a kind of president of the confederation." He had his own representative in the twelve districts next to the capintrito rionale that answered to Fucci. Alfano, freed from the care of governance, devoted himself exclusively to his lucrative trade: usury . He worked closely with his associate Giovanni Rapi – a former primary school teacher turned gambling operator and usurer –, who after

6732-530: The pages, with headlines like "Was He a Suicide?" and "Screaming for Mercy". In addition, Pulitzer charged readers only two cents per issue but gave readers eight and sometimes 12 pages of information (the only other two-cent paper in the city never exceeded four pages). While there were many sensational stories in the New York World , they were by no means the only pieces, or even the dominant ones. Pulitzer believed that newspapers were public institutions with

6831-568: The prison of Sassari , on the island of Sardinia. As The New York Times reported: "The convicts did all in their power to see the great criminal and pay him a kind of court, putting themselves at his disposition as subjects would to a sovereign." Many fan letters addressed to him arrived at the penitentiary, including love letters from women. In prison he took up the old family trade of shoemaking. In 1927, fifteen years later, government witness Gennaro Abbatemaggio withdrew his accusations. However, despite serious doubts of several magistrates about

6930-448: The proceedings were about 40,000 pages in 63 volumes. In his last statement before the verdict, a furious Alfano accused the authorities to have killed his brother Ciro, who had died in prison. Another defendant, Gennaro De Marinis, who was sentenced to 30 years as well, slashed his throat with a piece of glass in the Court when the verdict was delivered. The proclamation of the sentence was received with "uproarious protests", according to

7029-411: The proceedings were about 40,000 pages in 63 volumes. In his last statement before the verdict, a furious Alfano accused the authorities to have killed his brother Ciro, who had died in prison. Another defendant, Gennaro De Marinis, who was sentenced to 30 years as well, slashed his throat with a piece of glass in the Court when the verdict was delivered. After his conviction Alfano was transferred to

7128-405: The rebellion, herded Cuban peasants into concentration camps , leading hundreds of Cubans to their deaths. Having clamored for a fight for two years, Hearst took credit for the conflict when it came: A week after the United States declared war on Spain, he ran "How do you like the Journal's war?" on his front page. In fact, President William McKinley never read the Journal , nor newspapers like

7227-478: The requests for pardon came before Benito Mussolini one by one. In his own hand the Duce wrote on those instances: "Provisions should be individually, ranging measures over time." Alfano was granted a conditional release for good behaviour on 16 October 1934, after serving 27 years of his sentence. The erstwhile head of the Camorra vanished into oblivion. He died on 10 January 1940 in Naples. Yellow journalism In journalism , yellow journalism and

7326-545: The restaurant chaired by Alfano. The developments of the case and suspected police corruption were discussed in parliament several times. Meanwhile, after his release, Alfano left Naples and went from village to village to elude arrest. The Carabinieri located him in San Leucio , near Caserta , but he managed to escape. He fled to Rome, obtained a false passport and sailed for the United States from Marseilles , France. He disembarked on 17 March 1907, in New York disguised as

7425-498: The spirit of unabashed self-promotion that was a hallmark of the yellow press and of Hearst in particular. Hearst became a war hawk after a rebellion broke out in Cuba in 1895. Stories of Cuban virtue and Spanish brutality soon dominated his front page. While the accounts were of dubious accuracy, the newspaper readers of the 19th century did not expect, or necessarily want, his stories to be pure nonfiction. Historian Michael Robertson has said that "Newspaper reporters and readers of

7524-485: The start of the trial. Giovanni Rapi, the Camorra's "treasurer", had an interest in several private banks in New York where the savings of immigrants were forwarded to Italy. The New York defence fund treasurer was Andrea Attanasio, also sought in connection with the Cuocolo matter. The trial was transformed from a murder trial into one against the Camorra as a whole. The hearings began in the spring of 1911 and would continue for twelve months. Captain Fabbroni intended to use

7623-756: The stories as morality plays , and sprinkled adultery and "nudity" (by 19th-century standards) on the front page. A month after Hearst took over the paper, the Examiner ran this headline about a hotel fire: HUNGRY, FRANTIC FLAMES. They Leap Madly Upon the Splendid Pleasure Palace by the Bay of Monterey, Encircling Del Monte in Their Ravenous Embrace From Pinnacle to Foundation. Leaping Higher, Higher, Higher, With Desperate Desire. Running Madly Riotous Through Cornice, Archway and Facade. Rushing in Upon

7722-403: The suspects were released from jail 50 days later, not in the least thanks to the intervention of the priest Ciro Vitozzi, the "guardian angel" of the Camorra and Erricone's godfather. The hypothesis that the double murder was Camorra-related did not convince the investigating judge and the judiciary was persuaded that the trail to follow was that of revenge, of a reprisal for matters of booty. On

7821-459: The then-popular comic strip which was published by both Pulitzer and Hearst during a circulation war. Joseph Pulitzer purchased the New York World in 1883 after making the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the dominant daily in that city. Pulitzer strove to make the New York World an entertaining read, and filled his paper with pictures, games and contests that drew in new readers. Crime stories filled many of

7920-617: The time, and perhaps pushing the U.S. into the Spanish-American War of 1898. Most historians say it did not do so. The two papers reached a working class Democratic audience, and the nation's upscale Republican decision makers (such as President William McKinley and leaders in Congress) seldom read the Yellow press. Journalism historian W. Joseph Campbell described yellow press newspapers as having daily multi-column front-page headlines covering

8019-491: The time, supported Fabbroni's line of investigation with dozens of articles signed in particular by the newspaper's influential editor Edoardo Scarfoglio and crime reporter Ernesto Serao. Indicted on 22 October 1907, the defendants faced a circumstantial trial on the basis of Abbatemaggio's testimony alone. The developments of the case and suspected police corruption were discussed in parliament several times. Meanwhile, after his release Alfano had moved to New York City , where he

8118-426: The trial to strike the final blow to the Camorra. The trial was Fabbroni's finest moment. He testified in 21 hearings and his testimony filled 285 pages. He accused the police, politicians and even the judiciary of being involved with the Camorra. All defendants claimed they were innocent. "I am the victim of yellow journalism ," Alfano told the judge. "I have been ruined by the Carabinieri. The story that I have been

8217-458: The turn of the century. According to La Stampa , describing the event many years after it took place, the duel went as follows: The clash took place near the piazza dei Vergini. Totonno had gone armed only with the knife, a fair weapon, and followed by a large mastiff, while Erricone had gone there armed with the revolver, an unfair weapon. As soon as they faced each other, Erricone drew his revolver and pointed it. Pappagallo , unperturbed, ordered

8316-470: Was "deficient in judgment and in staying power." Pulitzer's approach made an impression on William Randolph Hearst , a mining heir who acquired the San Francisco Examiner from his father in 1887. Hearst studied the World and resolved to make the San Francisco Examiner as bright as Pulitzer's paper. Under his leadership, the Examiner devoted 24 percent of its space to crime, presenting

8415-442: Was Andrea Attanasio, also sought in connection with the Cuocolo matter. The trial was Captain Fabbroni's finest moment. He testified in 21 hearings and his testimony filled 285 pages. He accused the police, politicians and even the judiciary of being involved with the Camorra. Alfano claimed he was innocent. "I am the victim of yellow journalism," he told the judge. "I have been ruined by the Carabinieri. The story that I have been

8514-414: Was a leading Democrat who promoted William Jennings Bryan for president in 1896 and 1900. He later ran for mayor and governor and even sought the presidential nomination, but lost much of his personal prestige when outrage exploded in 1901 after columnist Ambrose Bierce and editor Arthur Brisbane published separate columns months apart that suggested the assassination of William McKinley . When McKinley

8613-553: Was admitted into a San Francisco hospital and discovered that poor women were treated with "gross cruelty". The entire hospital staff was fired the morning the piece appeared. With the success of the Examiner established by the early 1890s, Hearst began looking for a New York newspaper to purchase, and acquired the New York Journal in 1895, a penny paper. Metropolitan newspapers started going after department store advertising in

8712-405: Was arrested by the head of the Italian squad of the New York police, Joseph Petrosino . The arrest caused a sensation in Naples. Alfano was expelled and put behind bars in Naples. On 27 March 1909, the Assistant Public Prosecutor committed 47 persons for trial by the Court of Assizes in Naples. However, due to many attempts to corrupt the authorities and other obstacles the trial was transferred to

8811-478: Was considered to be one of the chiefs of the Camorra , a Mafia -type organisation in the region of Campania and its capital Naples in Italy, at the turn of the 20th century. He was described as "a kind of president of the confederation." According to some sources, Alfano was linked to the murder of New York City police lieutenant Joseph Petrosino in Palermo in 1909, however, the murder had since been attributed to

8910-581: Was emphasizing sensationalized crime reporting to boost sales and excite public opinion. An English magazine in 1898 noted, "All American journalism is not 'yellow', though all strictly 'up-to-date' yellow journalism is American!" The term was coined in the mid-1890s to characterize the sensational journalism in the circulation war between Joseph Pulitzer 's New York World and William Randolph Hearst 's New York Journal . The battle peaked from 1895 to about 1898, and historical usage often refers specifically to this period. Both papers were sensationalizing

9009-403: Was expelled and put on a ship to Le Havre in France, where he was picked up by the Italian police. He was put behind bars in Naples. According to some sources, Alfano was linked to the lieutenant Petrosino's murder in Palermo on 12 March 1909, which has since been attributed to the Sicilian Mafia , and to Vito Cascio Ferro in particular. Back in Italy, Alfano stood trial at Viterbo for

9108-424: Was made by the Neapolitan newspaper Il Mattino , which at the time of the trial had strongly supported the work of the police. Alfano's sister, Rosina Alfano, tried to convince the suspected real killer Gaetano Amodeo – who privately admitted to have been the slayer and had been identified as such by the first inquiry of the Naples police – to publicly confess the murder, which he refused to do. In subsequent years,

9207-495: Was not common in other cities. Joseph Pulitzer purchased the New York World in 1883 and told his editors to use sensationalism, crusades against corruption, and lavish use of illustrations to boost circulation. William Randolph Hearst then purchased the rival New York Journal in 1895. They engaged in an intense circulation war, at a time when most men bought one copy every day from rival street vendors shouting their paper's headlines. The term "yellow journalism" originated from

9306-505: Was performing at the Salone Margherita a café-chantant in Naples, contacted Alfano to get back her stolen jewelry. Within a few days, Alfano tracked the thieves and restored the jewelry. The case hit the news headlines and Alfano was arrested for complicity with the thieves but was absolved. The power of Alfano reached as far as politics. Together with his right-hand men, the priest Ciro Vitozzi and his associate Giovanni Rapi, Alfano

9405-429: Was quiet in Cuba and "There will be no war." Creelman claimed Hearst responded "Please remain. You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war." Hearst denied the veracity of the story, and no one has found any evidence of the telegrams existing. Historian Emily Erickson states: Serious historians have dismissed the telegram story as unlikely. ... The hubris contained in this supposed telegram, however, does reflect

9504-482: Was said to be the man behind the election in 1904 of the Count Vincenzo Ravaschieri Foschi to parliament to the detriment of the incumbent socialist deputy Ettore Ciccotti . The night before the election dissident voters were intimidated, assaulted, beaten, and sustained knife injuries by ruffians hired and encouraged by both the Camorra and the police, since the authorities equally disapproved of

9603-411: Was shot on September 6, 1901, critics accused Hearst's Yellow Journalism of driving Leon Czolgosz to the deed. It was later presumed that Hearst did not know of Bierce's column, and he claimed to have pulled Brisbane's after it ran in a first edition, but the incident would haunt him for the rest of his life, and all but destroyed his presidential ambitions. When later asked about Hearst's reaction to

9702-443: Was sickened by the bloodshed, and because leaders like McKinley realized that Spain had lost control of Cuba. These factors weighed more on the president's mind than the melodramas in the New York Journal. Nick Kapur says that McKinley's actions were based more on his values of arbitrationism, pacifism, humanitarianism, and manly self-restraint, than on external pressures. When the invasion began, Hearst sailed directly to Cuba as

9801-467: Was transferred to the Carabinieri and delegated to Captain Carlo Fabbroni . Fabbroni accused the Naples police of inefficiency and corruption. The investigation got new momentum when Gennaro Abbatemaggio, a young camorrista and a former Carabinieri informer serving a jail sentence in Naples, testified that the decision to kill Cuocolo, suspected of being a police spy, had been taken at a meeting at

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