On October 29th 1911, the daughter of Pasquarella, Nellie Lenere, presented herself at E104th St. station claiming 'a man had met with accident in her home'. The police found Frank 'Chick' Monaco, a local character already well known to them. Monaco had been stabbed from behind twenty five times and had a steel safe on top of his chest. Nellie Lenere claimed she had killed Monaco as he tried to rob the safe. After the autopsy the police threw doubt upon her story claiming she was shielding the real killers, she had arrived at the police station with clothes too clean to have been involved in such a violent struggle, and the safe had been placed on his chest after Monaco had been stabbed. Lenere was committed to the Tombs by Coroner Feinberg. Twenty one days later Lenere was acquitted by the Coroner's jury due to lack of evidence against her. Monaco's friends later revealed that before his murder he had been Ms Lenere's lover.
On March 20th, 1912, Pasquarella Spinelli left her apartment and crossed the street to the stable. Nellie, who was still at home heard gunshots and leapt to the window to see her mother dead and two gunmen fleeing from the stables. After witnessing the murder, Nellie feared for her own life. She fled to Italy and sent back false reports of her own murder to confuse her enemies. It was later thought that she returned to New York and went in to hiding. |
