...Part 4

John Broski and his daughter Joanna, 7, taken in the family driveway just a couple of year before the murder.

This is the fourth and final installment to the report on the Pvt. John Broski murder in 1937 and the events that followed.

Horace Bowers and Victor Andreoli were as surprised as everybody else by the life sentence they received, instead of the death penalty.   This was one of the most extensive investigations in Luzerne County history.  Most people believed the two killers should have been sentenced to death.  Newspaper editorials were critical of penalty, and the jury came under sharp criticism for failing to invoke the death penalty. 

About a week following the trial Captain Clark, C.O. Troop B, was requested, in some form, to comment on the sentences the two killers received.  He believed that police officers should not publicly comment on investigations.  In a letter to the newspapers he wrote that he always told the men in his command, that “When the police have submitted their evidence to the prosecuting attorney their work is done.”  He still believed in this principle but in this instance, speaking out might, “serve a useful purpose.”   He wrote, “I present briefly the facts of the case…the mad “Bow Wow,” a paroled convict and his accomplice…Andreoli shot and killed a member of my command.”  The killers planned to “pull some jobs up State which included stealing cars, robbery, kidnapping and murder.”  He went on to write “…twelve jurors shirked their duty.  They swore an oath they were not opposed to the death penalty.”  The tone of the letter, which was published in its entirety, revealed the disappointment Clark felt about the outcome of the trial.

Bowers and Andreoli were incarcerated in the Eastern Penitentiary, located in Philadelphia, a prison known harsh and overcrowded conditions.

Both men became problem inmates.  About eight years after Broski’s murder Bowers escaped with the notorious robber Willie Sutton, and eight other convicts.  He was later caught and returned.  In 1963 he was paroled, and for many years after, led an uneventful life.

On October 27, 1943, Victor Andreoli escaped, hiding in delivery truck leaving the prison. Eventually he made his way to the home of Anthony Cella, an old acquaintance, and there threatened Cella’s six-year old daughter, demanding clothing and a ride to a nearby subway.  Cella submitted to the demands of Andreoli and drove him to a nearby subway station.

On November 6, 1943, at 6:00 A.M. in the morning Privates Rocco Urella and Peter R. Waselefsky, were awakened at the Media barracks by the station Sergeant.  They were told that Andreoli was seen around the shipyard in the city of Chester, near Philadelphia.    It was believed he wasn’t armed except for a pair of scissors.  Ordered to check this tip out the two officers, in civilian clothes, drove to Chester in an unmarked car.   Both officers were armed with their issued weapons, the Colt, 38cal. revolver with a six-inch barrel.  Urella was married and the father of a child.  Later in the day he had to report to the Draft Board to be inducted into the U.S Army. 

Chester was busy town.  It was the middle years of WWII, and both shipyards and nearby oil refineries were running three full shifts a day.

Urella, as the senior officer, decided to check the Rainbow Diner first.  It was a  popular restaurant with the shipyard workers.  The restaurant was so crowded patrons were lined up to be seated.  The officers stood at the back of the diner looking over the crowd.

Urella noticed a man seated at the counter whose hair was longer and hanging over his collar.  They approached the individual from the rear, pushing their way through the crowd.  Getting closer he noticed the man’s shoes were worn at the heels.  

Rocco Urella tells us this part of the story.  “I told Walselefsky to back me up.  The guy was drinking coffee and I stood right behind him.  I wasn’t sure it was Andreoli, we only had a verbal description and a nine year old photograph.  I had been a State Champion wrestler and felt confident I could handle this situation.  I asked the man for his draft card.  He said “Okay.”  He moved to his left on the stool, but suddenly spun around to the right. A gun was in his right hand and it hit me on the right side of my face, at the same time, discharging. The next thing I knew it felt like somebody had torn off my right ear. There was a burning sensation on the right side of my face, a loud bang, and I was knocked off my feet. I remember thinking “Oh boy, here I go.” I was having difficulty for a second getting my gun from under my coat.  Andreoli stood over me and fired a second time, the bullet hitting me in the wrist and thumb.  When my gun was free I fired twice, the first bullet hit Andreoli in the chest.  I can’t remember where the second round struck him.  Andreoli was still standing as I got up so I threw him down on the floor and may have straddled his chest.  I remember being really angry.  I said to him “You almost killed me you S.O.B.  Andreoli replied, “I wish I had.”  He died shortly after this.” 

“Not long after the shooting the Delaware County District Attorney responded to the scene.  The gunshot wound hurt, I could not hear out of my right ear, and the right side of my face had a powder burn.  I had an argument with the D.A. when I told him I needed a ride to the draft center for induction.  Instead I was taken to the hospital, treated then released. I went home. The next day I was on a day off and the following day, back on patrol.  Later in the day I was ordered to report to Troop Headquarters in Philadelphia where I was officially recognized for my actions in this case. Shortly after I was deferred from military service.”

Story cont'd in next column
Read: Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3
Visit John J. Broske Memorial

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