web1_luckys-1-.jpg

Lucky’s Sporthouse closes its doors after one final Super Bowl

web1_EJS31.jpg

Styling: Root, root, root for the home team in style

<p>Thousands of people lined the streets of Pittston for the funeral of Samuel Lucchino on July 24. 1920.</p><p>Days earlier, on July 21, 1920, the Pittston police detective and former secret serviceman was gunned down in front of his home at 29 E. Railroad St. while his wife waited for him on the front porch. Lucchino, 38, was rushed to Pittston Hospital, where he died less than an hour later.</p><p>&#8220;Lucchino&#8217;s revolver was found near the gate indicating that he had tried to offer a defense but was too late,&#8221; the Times Leader Evening News reported July 22, 1920.</p><p>Many theories were investigated, including a prior shooting in 1911 when Lucchino was the victim of gunfire near his house.</p><p>&#8220;Eight years ago Lucchino was shot almost at the same spot by members of the famous &#8216;Lepo&#8217; counterfeiting gang whom he had been instrumental in running down. He was shot through the neck and for weeks he hovered between life and death, finally recovering after a brave struggle,&#8221; the Times Leader reported.</p><p>As investigators initially focused on Lucchino&#8217;s role in keeping peace during a strike of coal miners against the Pennsylvania Coal Company as the motive, the investigation shifted to the Lepo gang.</p><p>About three weeks after Lucchino was killed, investigators charged Ferdinand Rombola, of Pittston, and Tony Puntariro, and Peter Enrico, both of Trenton, N.J., with the murder.</p><p>Investigators believed Lucchino was killed as payback for arresting Rombola in 1913 on counterfeiting half-dollar coins. Several months before Lucchino was killed, Rombola was released from federal prison after serving a five year sentence, the Times Leader reported Aug. 13, 1920.</p><p>Puntariro and Enrico had separate trials at the Luzerne County Courthouse.</p><p>District Attorney Arthur James explained the motive to jurors, noting Rombola had a telegram sent to Puntariro to come to Pittston to kill Lucchino. Puntariro and Enrico were paid $3,500 for the murder, the Evening News reported Sept. 28, 1920.</p><p>&#8220;If we prove that as a result of the telegram that Puntariro came here to kill Lucchino and did kill him, we are justified, if we ever were justified in any case, to ask for a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree,&#8221; James told jurors.</p><p>Puntariro took the witness stand Oct. 1, 1920, telling jurors he stayed at Rombola&#8217;s home and went for a walk but was never on East Railroad Street when Lucchino was killed.</p><p>Puntariro was found guilty of first degree murder by the jury after 90 minutes of deliberations on Oct. 5, 1920, the Evening News reported the same night.</p><p>Jurors selected to hear Enrico&#8217;s trial were sequestered during proceedings and stayed at the Hotel Redington in Wilkes-Barre. Enrico was convicted of first-degree murder on Nov. 16, 1920.</p><p>Charges against Rombola were withdrawn after Enrico&#8217;s trial.</p><p>&#8220;District Attorney Arthur James today stated detectives were unable to get sufficient evidence on Rombola to implicate him with the Lucchino murder and after discussing the matter with the attorneys the court decided to allow the prisoner to be released,&#8221; the Evening News reported Nov. 22, 1920.</p><p>Puntariro and Enrico were sentenced to death March 8, 1921, by the judges who presided over their separate trails.</p><p>&#8220;The condemned men received the pronouncement of their doom with stoic fortitude. Neither uttered a word but stood in turn before the court in a sort of grim defiance and each bowed to the judges at the conclusion of the sentence,&#8221; the Times Leader reported.</p><p>Their convictions were upheld on appeal. The state Board of Pardons refused to grant pardons and Gov. William C. Sproul refused to intervene.</p><p>Enrico and Puntariro were executed at the Western Penitentiary in Rockview on Sept. 25, 1922. No one claimed their bodies and they were buried outside the prison walls, the Evening News reported the same night. </p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Peter-Enrico-EN-08111920.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Enrico </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Peter-Enrico-EN-08111920.jpg</photo0><caption0>Enrico </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Tony-Punteriro-EN-10051920.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Puntariro </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Tony-Punteriro-EN-10051920.jpg</photo1><caption1>Puntariro </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Samuel-Lucchino.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Lucchino </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Samuel-Lucchino.jpg</photo2><caption2>Lucchino </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Ed Lewis</p><p>elewis@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Look Back: Two men executed for 1920 murder of Pittston police detective