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Two months after the arrest of Frank Valoroso on charges he set a fire that killed Rev. Felix Nowak, his wife and three children at a farmhouse in Pond Hill of Slocum Township, a jury was selected at the Luzerne County Courthouse on Sept. 11, 1921.
				Trial commenced the following day before Judge Henry A. Fuller.
				&ldquo;The farming community of Pond Hill was aroused on the morning of July 25, 1921, by the news of the destruction of the Nowak homestead. Later discovery showed that five bodies perished in the flames resulting in the state police, county detectives and other officials making an investigation which showed that there had been foul play,&rdquo; the Times Leader reported Sept. 12, 1921.
				Felix Nowak was found dead from two gunshot wounds while his wife and three children died by the fire.
				State policemen and detectives arrested Valoroso, a neighbor, on a statement he made to others battling the fire with water buckets.
				Valoroso and his family lived in the other half of the farmhouse.
				Those investigating the case found out Valoroso had removed most of his furniture from his side of the farmhouse before it was destroyed by flames.
				&ldquo;When the news spread that the Nowak family were burned in the house, Valoroso made a statement in which he said he didn&rsquo;t know they were at home and he made no effort to see if any person was in the house. He said he saw them go away early in the evening and he thought they had remained away over night,&rdquo; the Times Leader reported.
				A safe missing from the Nowak farmhouse was found buried in a horse stable owned by Valoroso. Inside the safe were property deeds that showed Nowak and Valoroso had transferred property, which led to bad blood between the two men.
				District Attorney Arthur James&rsquo; strongest witness was George R. Buzzer, who was a cellmate of Valoroso. Buzzer testified Valoroso confided that Valoroso had his step-son, Rocco Chickolla, pour oil and gasoline throughout the Nowak farmhouse.
				Chickolla was held as a material witness in the case. His testimony damaged the prosecution&rsquo;s case as he told jurors his step-father used a hammer to bang on the Nowak&rsquo;s front door alerting them to the fire.
				&ldquo;The trial of Valoroso continues to hold more than the ordinary amount of interest shown in murder cases as Judge Fuller&rsquo;s courtroom was packed to the doors and the tipstaves were kept busy preserving order. The murder of the Nowak family is one of the most brutal crimes ever enacted in Luzerne County,&rdquo; the Times Leader reported Sept. 14, 1921.
				The Evening News newspaper reported Sept. 16, 1921, that the jury convicted Valoroso on five counts of first degree murder.
				&ldquo;The jury was out only a couple of hours, including the time they spent at dinner,&rdquo; the Evening News reported the same day.
				After the jury&rsquo;s verdict, Valoroso was interviewed by a Times Leader reporter at the county jail proclaiming his innocence.
				&ldquo;Jumping from his chair in the room with both hands extended toward heaven and swayed by emotions from out of his predicament, Valoroso said, &lsquo;God knows I&rsquo;m innocent yet I&rsquo;m convicted of this crime,&rdquo; the Times Leader reported Sept. 17, 1921.
				Fuller sentenced Valoroso to death by electric chair.
				Following the sentencing hearing, Valoroso&rsquo;s wife showed up unannounced at the district attorney&rsquo;s office on Dec. 1, 1921, pleading for a new trial.
				&ldquo;Crying bitterly and bemoaning the fate of her husband, whom she said was innocent of the murder of Rev. Felix Nowak, his wife and three small children pleaded for support from the poor board,&rdquo; the Times Leader reported Dec. 2, 1921.
				Valoroso was awarded a new trial by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in February 1922 based on an unsigned letter Valoroso&rsquo;s wife discovered after the first trial. The unsigned letter demanded payment on a property transaction that involved the farmhouse but was not addressed to Valoroso.
				Valoroso&rsquo;s second trial began before Judge Fuller on May 30, 1922.
				&ldquo;Judge Fuller&rsquo;s courtroom was crowded to the doors today. Every available inch of the room was taken up by the large crowd who were content to stand in the hope that there would be some kind of excitement,&rdquo; the Evening News reported May 31, 1922.
				The jury in the second trial acquitted Valoroso of all charges with the verdict announced before a packed courtroom on June 7, 1922.
				&ldquo;The verdict freeing Valoroso of first-degree murder came as a big surprise to the defendant who seemed confused and unable to understand he had been acquitted,&rdquo; the Evening News reported.
				The newspaper reported the cost of the investigation exceeded $20,000.

LOOK BACK: The trial of Frank Valoroso