Florence Lassandro (; born Filumena Costanzo ; 1900 – May 2, 1923) was an
Italian-Canadian bootlegger who was the only woman to be hanged in
Alberta.
Early life
Lassandro was born in
Cosenza
Cosenza (; local dialect: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000; the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Province of Cosenza, which has a populati ...
,
Italy, immigrating with her family to Canada in 1909, and marrying Carlo Sanfidele (who later changed his surname to Lassandro) on October 16, 1915 in
Fernie, British Columbia. Sanfidele worked for
Emilio Picariello as a chauffeur and hotel manager for Picariello. Sanfidele and Lassandro also worked with Picariello in his
bootlegging operations, when
Prohibition was declared in Alberta in 1916, and 1917 in British Columbia. Lassandro was also Picariello's mistress.
Picariello was an entrepreneur based in
Blairmore, Alberta
Blairmore is a community in the Rocky Mountains within the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in southwest Alberta, Canada. It was formerly incorporated as a town prior to 1979 when it amalgamated with four other municipalities to form Crowsnest Pas ...
. He was engaged in many legal businesses including manufacturing ice cream and operating the Alberta Hotel in Blairmore; however this became a front for his bootlegging activity. Charlie Lassandro was one of Picariello's employees, and permitted Lassandro to work with Picariello to smuggle alcohol from British Columbia to Alberta and
Montana.
Murder and hanging
Picariello's son became involved in a police chase on September 21, 1922, during which he was shot in the hand by Constable Stephen O. Lawson of the
Alberta Provincial Police. Picariello had assumed that his son had been killed when he heard a rumour that he had been shot and went to confront Lawson. In
Coleman, Picariello and Lassandro confronted Constable Lawson, who was fatally shot in front of his home by the pair.
[
Both Picariello and Lassandro were arrested the following day, and were convicted for Lawson's murder; however, the trial was a questionable affair of who actually shot Lawson. Nevertheless, both were sentenced to hanging on December 2, 1922; they unsuccessfully sought clemency from the courts, the Justice Minister, and the Prime Minister.][Auger & Edwards 184]
On February 1, 2003, Canadian composer John Estacio, and Canadian librettist John Murrell, premiered, in Calgary, Alberta, ''Filumena'', an opera based on Lassandro's life and death. The opera was performed at the Banff Centre for the Arts
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...
in August 2003; was featured in Ottawa, Ontario in April 2005, during the Alberta Scene Festival, which celebrated Albertan culture during the centenary anniversary; and, in November 2005, was the opening work of the 2005/2006 season of the Edmonton Opera
Edmonton Opera is a professional Canadian opera company in Edmonton, Alberta, which performs in the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium with its Opera Centre located at 15230 128 Ave in northwest Edmonton. The Opera Centre is home to a box office, ...
in Edmonton, Alberta. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation broadcast a performance of this opera on March 9, 2006.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Filumena Opera WebsiteAlberta Scene Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lassandro, Filumena
Italian emigrants to Canada
Executed Canadian people
People executed for murder
People executed by Canada by hanging
Italian people executed abroad
Executed Italian women
Executed Canadian women
Canadian people convicted of murder
Italian people convicted of murder
People convicted of murder by Canada
Italian people convicted of murdering police officers
Canadian people convicted of murdering police officers
People executed for murdering police officers
1923 deaths
Crowsnest Pass, Alberta
Bootleggers
Prohibition-era gangsters
1900 births
Executed Italian people
Canadian female murderers
Canadian gangsters of Italian descent
Canadian people of Calabrian descent