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Florence Lassandro (; born Filumena Costanzo ; 1900 – May 2, 1923) was an
Italian-Canadian Italian Canadians ( it, italo-canadesi, french: italo-canadiens) comprise Canadians who have full or partial Italian heritage and Italians who migrated from Italy or reside in Canada. According to the 2021 Census of Canada, 1,546,390 Canadians ...
bootlegger who was the only woman to be hanged in
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
.


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 Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, 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 Fernie is a city in the Elk Valley area of the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, located on BC Highway 3 on the western approaches to the Crowsnest Pass through the Rocky Mountains. Founded in 1898 and incorpora ...
. Sanfidele worked for
Emilio Picariello Emilio Picariello (, ; also known as Emileo PicarielloGray 62 and Emil Picariello,Foster 83 1875Anderson 43 or 1879Brennan 51 – May 2, 1923) was an Italian-Canadian bootlegger and convicted murderer, who was hanged at Fort Saskatchewan in 1923 ...
as a chauffeur and hotel manager for Picariello. Sanfidele and Lassandro also worked with Picariello in his bootlegging operations, when
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
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 Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
.


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 The Alberta Provincial Police (APP) was the provincial police service for the province of Alberta, Canada from 1917 to 1932. The APP was formed as a result of the Royal North-West Mounted Police (RNWMP) leaving the prairie provinces during the ...
. 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 Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...
on December 2, 1922; they unsuccessfully sought clemency from the courts, the Justice Minister, and the Prime Minister. Originally scheduled to hang on February 21, 1923, Lassandro and Picariello were hanged on the
gallows A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...
of
Fort Saskatchewan Fort Saskatchewan is a city along the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta, Canada. It is northeast of Edmonton, the provincial capital. It is part of the Edmonton census metropolitan area and one of 24 municipalities that constitute the Edmont ...
penitentiary on May 2, 1923, with Lassandro's last words being "I forgive everybody." Picariello was popular in Alberta, and public opinion was on the side of Picariello and Lassandro on the day of their executions with many feeling that the death sentences handed down by the court to be excessively harsh in view of the mitigating circumstances. The executions of Picariello and Lassandro are credited with helping to turn public opinion against Prohibition in Alberta.Auger & Edwards 184 On February 1, 2003, Canadian composer
John Estacio John Estacio (born April 8, 1966) is a contemporary Canadian composer of opera, orchestral and choral music. __TOC__ Life and career Estacio was born in Newmarket, Ontario. Raised in the farming community of the Holland Marsh, Ontario, Estacio t ...
, and Canadian librettist John Murrell, premiered, in
Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...
, ''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 Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
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 Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...
. The
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
broadcast a performance of this opera on March 9, 2006.


References


Further reading

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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