United States v. Riela

• Decision Date: 08 April 1963
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 745-60.
• Citation: 215 F. Supp. 914
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Antonio RIELA, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey

215 F. Supp. 914

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Antonio RIELA, Defendant.

Civ. A. No. 745-60.

United States District Court D. New Jersey.

April 8, 1963.

David M. Satz, Jr., U. S. Atty., by Sanford M. Jaffe, Asst. U. S. Atty., for the United States.

Paige & Paige, by Samuel Paige, New York City, for defendant.

WORTENDYKE, District Judge.

Jurisdiction in this denaturalization case is conferred by 8 U.S.C. § 1451. The defendant resides in the District of New Jersey and the action is instituted by the United States Attorney for that District.

Annexed to the complaint is an affidavit of good cause made by W. E. Farnham, and sworn to June 25, 1959. The affiant was an attorney and Regional Counsel in the Northeastern Regional Office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service at Burlington, Vermont. The affidavit states that Antonio Riela filed a petition for naturalization in the name of Antonino Pietro Riela in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, at Brooklyn, on May 15, 1933, and was admitted to citizenship by that Court on August 22, 1933, receiving a certificate of naturalization numbered 3,733,920, in the name of Antonino Pietro Riela.

In an application for a reentry permit to be used for a six month absence in France and Italy, beginning December 27, 1931, petitioner alleged that his name was Pietro Riela; that he then last arrived in the United States at the Port of New York on July 8, 1923, on the S.S. Guglielmo Peirce; that he was born August 5, 1896, at Terranova, Italy; and that he was single.

In an application for a certificate of arrival and preliminary form for declaration of intention, dated September 16, 1930, petitioner represented that his name was Antonino Pietro Riela, and that he arrived under that name on the date and vessel, at the port noted, and was born on the date and at the place which he had previously stated, and that he was not married and had no children.

In an application for certificate of arrival and preliminary form for petition for citizenship, undated but received December 12, 1932, and in his testimony before the Naturalization Examiner on May 15, 1933, petitioner stated that he arrived under the name of Pietro Riela, as aforesaid, and was born as aforesaid. At that time he also stated that he met both of his witnesses in Brooklyn, New York; that he had seen his first witness three times monthly during the then past five years, and the second witness at work on the job.

In his statement of facts to be used in his petition for citizenship, petitioner stated, under date of May 15, 1933, that his name was Antonino Pietro Riela, resided at 1148 Belmont Avenue, Brooklyn; that his place and date of birth, and date of entry into the United States were as previously stated; and that he met his first verifying witness Antonio Falletta on August 5, 1924 and his second witness John Joseph Kenny in December of 1924. He repeated the foregoing information in his petition for naturalization, executed May 15, 1933.

The affiant, Farnham, charges that the foregoing allegations of Antonio Riela were false and untrue, in that:

(1) his name was not Pietro Riela but Antonio Riela;

(2) he was born August 5, 1897 at San Giuseppe Jato, Italy, and not on August 5, 1896 in Terranova, Italy;

(3) the certificate of arrival filed with his petition for naturalization, although showing the arrival of Pietro Riela on the date and by the steamship stated, did not relate to the arrival of Antonio Riela;

(4) the Pietro Riela referred to in the certificate of arrival was born in Terranova on August 22, 1896, and did enter the United States on July 8, 1922 on the S.S. Guglielmo Peirce;

(5) petitioner was not residing at 1148 Belmont Avenue, Brooklyn when he filed his petition, but at 184 N. 15th Street, Bloomfield, New Jersey, where he had resided for the period of six months immediately preceding the filing of his petition for naturalization;

(6) he did not know his verifying witnesses since 1924, but knew John Joseph Kenny for only one week before filing his petition, and Antonio Falletta from 1931;

(7) he had not visited at Falletta's home, or seen Kenny on the job, but had seen Falletta only on the street;

(8) he was not attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, or well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States;

(9) there was not attached to his petition for naturalization a certificate of arrival showing the date, place and manner of his entry into the United States;

(10) he was not single and childless when he applied for a declaration of intention in 1930, and for a reentry permit in 1931, but had been married September 3, 1921 and had a son, Andrea, born in September 1922; both residing in Italy.

The affidavit charges that Antonio Riela assumed the identity of Pietro Riela, of whom he was no relation, and that the false representations made by Antonio Riela during the course of his naturalization proceedings were deliberately and intentionally made in order to conceal material facts from the Naturalization Examiner and the Court. Therefore, charges the affiant, the naturalization certificate issued to Antonio Riela was procured by fraud.

* * * * * *

The Government took the deposition of Pietro Riela, of 1018 Danby Road, Ithaca, New York, on April 26, 1961. His testimony was generally as follows: He never resided in the State of Illinois; nor at 8703 20th Avenue or 1148 Belmont Avenue, Brooklyn; or at 184 North 15th Street, Bloomfield, New Jersey. He was born August 22, 1896 at Terranova, now Gela, Italy. His father's name was Francesco, and his mother's maiden name was Salvatora Italiano. He had two brothers and five sisters, all residing in Italy; one of his brothers is named Francesco Riela and the other Giovanni Riela. The deponent further testified that he arrived in the United States July 9, 1923 from Terranova, Italy, and identified various documents which he produced pursuant to subpoena duces tecum:

The first was a letter upon the stationery of Sicula Americana, dated June 2, 1923 at Palermo, addressed to Signor Riela Pietro di Francesco, respecting third class accommodations on the S.S. Guglielmo Peirce, sailing June 23, 1923. (G-1)

The second was a medical certificate issued by the municipality of Terranova to Riela Pietro figlio di Francesco, dated June 5, 1923. (G-2)

The next was a further communication from Sicula Americana dated June 6, 1923, addressed to Riela Pietro di Francesco, captioned "Per Uso del Passeggiere." (G-3)

The next (G-4) was what appears to be a municipal birth certificate dated June 6, 1923, certifying to the birth of Riela Pietro son of Francesco and Italiano Salvatora, August 22, 1896.

The next (G-5) is a receipt for payment of passage money by Riela Pietro, for accommodations on the S.S. Guglielmo Peirce, dated June 20, 1923.

Another document (G-6) was apparently an emigrant's boarding permit issued by the steamship line to, and signed by Riela Pietro, 27 years of age, of Terranova, Italy, whose destination in the United States is stated therein to be Utica, New York.

G-7 is a certificate of examination and vaccination for emigration purposes, bearing a photograph of Pietro Riela (G-8) and dated June 23, 1923.

The passport of Pietro Riela (G-9) was validated June 14, 1923 at Terranova, Italy and identifies the issue as Pietro Riela, son of Francesco and Italiano Salvatora, born August 22, 1896, and residing in Terranova.

Finally, (G-10) Pietro Riela produced his certificate of naturalization, No. 2,918,116, dated January 26, 1929, issued to him by the New York Supreme Court for the County of Cayuga, when he resided at 34 Orchard Street, Auburn, New York.

In his deposition, taken September 25, 1962, the defendant gave his name as Anthony Antonio Riela, but refused to answer any further questions put by the Assistant United States Attorney, by availing himself of the privilege of the Fifth Amendment.

Under this claim of privilege, the deponent refused to identify his signature upon an application for a certificate of arrival and preliminary form for a declaration of intention, marked G-13. Having indicated, through his counsel, that he would persist in availing himself of the protection of the Fifth Amendment, the defendant was brought before the Court on October 1, 1962, and was directed to answer the question respecting the signature upon the document. He then denied that it was his signature. The defendant was also directed by the Court to answer further questions (for the refusal to answer which he claimed the Constitutional privilege) and those answers disclosed that when he arrived in the United States in October 1926 by ship, he met his uncle, Joseph Rizzo, and went to his house on 46th Street in New York City. He denied that he went to 500 Bleeker Street, Utica, New York; that he knew a person named Giuseppe when he filed G-13 (under the name of Antonino Pietro Riela) but then admitted that the signature on that exhibit (G-13) was his. He claimed that he did not remember furnishing the information contained in the exhibit, but thereafter admitted that it was furnished to him by his uncle, Joseph Rizzo.

Confronted with G-14 (bearing the name Antonino Pietro Riela), a statement of facts to be used in making declaration of intention, dated September 22, 1930, the witness (under compulsion) conceded that the signature thereon was his.

He further admitted (again under compulsion) that he was born in San Giuseppe Jato, Palermo.

G-15 (in the name of Pietro Riela) is an application for reentry permit, dated December 30, 1931, and bears the signature "Pietro Riela." The witness stated that he could not remember making the application.

G-16 (again in the name of Pietro) is a permit to reenter the United States, which bore, according to the defendant's concessions, his handwriting and his picture. The permit was to expire December 7, 1932,...