Benedetto Madonia
The man whose body was found in a barrel on East Eleventh Street, New York, on 14 April 1903, identified a week later as a stone mason from Buffalo. No record filed here names anyone convicted of his killing.
- Died
- 1903
- Aliases
- Maduena Benedetto (New-York Tribune, 21 April 1903), Bernedetto Mardonia (OCR of 189 F. 305)
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited records state.
On the record
- 14 April 1903 — His body was found in a barrel "early on Tuesday in Eleventh-st., near Avenue D," as the New-York Tribune of 16 April reports; he was then unidentified.
- 14 April 1903 — A Secret Service operative viewed the body at the Morgue and identified it as "that of a man I had seen the day previous, with Morrello et al." (NARA 151173326, page 111). An agency's report; it does not say who killed him.
- 20 April 1903 — Identified, as the Tribune and the Sun of 21 April report, as a 48-year-old stone mason of Buffalo, after Detective Petrosino showed his photograph to his brother-in-law, a counterfeiter in Sing Sing. The Sun gives the name Benedetto Madonia, the Tribune "Maduena Benedetto."
- 21 April 1903 — Both papers report the police belief that he was killed by counterfeiters while trying to obtain money owed to his brother-in-law. A police theory as reported, not a finding.
- 19 June 1911 — Calicchio v. United States, 189 F. 305, quotes a trial question about Morello's arrest "as the principal in the murder of Bernedetto Mardonia, who was found cut up in a barrel," and holds: "The arrest of Morelio for the murder proved nothing."
The records spell the name three ways: Benedetto Madonia (the Sun, 1903; the Tribune, 1910), Maduena Benedetto (the Tribune, 1903) and Bernedetto Mardonia (the OCR of the 1911 opinion). The year of death is the year his body was found; no record filed here gives the day or hour of his death, and no record filed here names anyone convicted of killing him. The 1910 Tribune places the barrel at “16th street and Avenue A,” which conflicts with the 1903 reports.
He was a private person known to the public record only through his death. This page goes no further than the reports and the court opinion cited, and does not reproduce the Buffalo address the papers printed. No role or family is stated.
Records
clippingButte Inter Mountain, 14 April 1903, page 1: Dead body in a barrelThe Butte Inter Mountain front page of 14 April 1903 carries an Associated Press dispatch from New York on a man's body found in a barrel on East Eleventh Street.
clippingNew-York Tribune, 15 April 1903, page 1: Man's body in a barrelThe New-York Tribune front page of 15 April 1903 reports the discovery of an unidentified man's body in a barrel on East Eleventh Street and the police theory that it was a secret-society killing.clippingNew-York Tribune, 16 April 1903, page 1: eight arrested in the barrel caseThe New-York Tribune front page of 16 April 1903 reports the arrest of eight men by police and Secret Service agents on suspicion of counterfeiting and of the killing of the man found in a barrel two days earlier, and names Giuseppe Morello among them.
itemSecret Service daily reports, New York District, 14-17 April 1903: the body identified, the arrests, and a telegram about a letter to New Orleans (T915 roll 109, pages 103-111)Secret Service reports received on 17 April 1903: an operative's identification of the body at the Morgue as a man seen 'with Morrello et al.' the day before, the arrests of 15 April, a telegram to Chief Wilkie about a letter that 'indicated that murder was to be done', and the list of suspects.clippingNew-York Tribune, 21 April 1903, page 1: barrel victim identified as a Buffalo manThe New-York Tribune front page of 21 April 1903 reports that the man found in the barrel was identified as a 48-year-old stone mason from Buffalo, after Detective Petrosino showed his photograph to the dead man's brother-in-law in Sing Sing.
clippingThe Sun (New York), 21 April 1903, page 1: man found in barrel knownThe Sun's front page of 21 April 1903 identifies the man found in the barrel as Benedetto Madonia, a stone mason of Buffalo, and credits Detective Sergeant Petrosino and Inspector McClusky's staff with the identification. A scan is stored here.clippingNew-York Tribune, 20 February 1910, page 3: sentencing story continued, with press speculationPage 3 of the New-York Tribune of 20 February 1910 continues the counterfeiting sentencing story under portraits captioned 'Italians sentenced for counterfeiting', and repeats detectives' unproven suspicions about the barrel killing and the Petrosino killing. Flagged as speculation.itemCalicchio v. United States, 189 F. 305 (2d Cir. 1911)Second Circuit opinion of 19 June 1911 affirming the 1910 counterfeiting convictions of Giuseppe Calicchio, Giuseppe Morello, Ignatzio Lupo and five others. It holds a question about Morello's 1903 arrest in the 'Barrel Murder' improper but cured, and says: 'The arrest of Morelio for the murder proved nothing.'