Alias: Don Chichi
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Frank Fevrola was a member of the Brooklyn based Navy St gang.
On March 16th, 1917, Joseph ‘Chuck’ Nazzaro was shot and killed in Yonkers NY. Nazzaro had been spotted talking to the Morello gang in Harlem, and was sentenced to death by the Neapolitan gangs in Brooklyn. Fevrola, Sgroia, and the Paretti brothers, all from the Navy St gang lured Nazzaro out to Yonkers under the pretence of killing Fevrola for giving the police information about a gang. The gang then shot Nazzaro and left his body on the trolley tracks.
Frank Fevrola was tried for the murder of Joe ‘Chuck’ Nazzaro on April 18th, 1921. Judge Tompkins found him guilty and sentenced him to the death house at Sing Sing. His conviction was largely due to his wife’s testimony against him.
On April 14th, 1922, a notice was served on DA Weeks, that a motion would be made to grant a retrial on the case of Fevrola. His wife had withdrawn all her previous statements, saying she had been threatened and bribed by the police. DA Weeks tried to oppose the retrial by rubbishing her new affidavit. On May 23rd, 1922, Justice Tompkins denied any motion for a retrial.
On May 29th, 1923, lawyer Thomas O’Neil made a last minute attempt to save Fevrola from execution. His request for a retrial was again put before Supreme Court Justice Tompkins. On Thursday 28th June, 1923, with just seven hours left until his execution and in a state of collapse, Fevrola received a reprieve, sparing his life until October 7th. The death sentence was eventually commuted to life imprisonment.