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#Post#: 5028--------------------------------------------------
A Review Of The Providence News Article: June 10, 1902
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: August 3, 2025, 7:11 am
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First of all, this is the terrific article that Pete Damgaard
found. Had Pete not found it, it more
than likely would have never been located. IMHO, it is a
landmark article and Pete deserves
great credit for locating it.
This article is well worth discussing. I have listed the
paragraphs with numbers and will add some
observations. The article may answer some questions or bring new
ones to the case study.
************
PROVIDENCE NEWS
JUNE 10, 1902
************
He Confessed To Murder
Pardoned Man Admitted Guilt
So Former Cellmate Says
-------------------------------------
Hacked Woman To Pieces
She Was Termed " Old Shakespeare"
and Was A Well Known Character of
The Metropolis.
----------------------
1. Now that he is safe put of the country on Governor Odell's
pardon, regarded by the public as the innocent victim of the
police, it
is said that Ameer Ben Ali, alias "Frenchy," confessed to a
cellmate to Emilio Sultan, the court interpreter, and to others
that
he murdered "Old Shakespeare".
2. Sultan told the story to Superintendent Byrnes and to others.
According to him Frenchy admitted that he was in the room and
handled the body after the murder occurred, but with
characteristic cunning would not admit in so many words that he
had
hacked the old woman to pieces.
3. Among those who knew of the reported confession to his
cellmate were former District Attorney De Lancey Nicoll and his
assistant, Francis L. Wellman. They preferred not to use it
because the cellmate was in prison on a charge of forgery
4. The story is now made public by William H. Thompson, playing
with the Mary Mannering-Kyrie Bellew Theatrical company.
Mr. Thompson says Sultan told him the whole story of Frenchy's
confession.
5. "I am surprised that the story has not been published long
ago," said Mr. Thompson. "I know the facts are in the possession
of
several men. The news of the confession could not by any means
be called a secret."
SULTAN A CIGAR DEALER
6. "Emilio Sultan, an Arab, kept a cigar store in Broadway and
in Forty-second Street, and it was there that I knew him. He was
the
interpreter at Frenchy's trial. Frenchy was a member of the wild
Riffian tribe and he spoke more Arabic than French."
7. "Sultan talked with Frenchy many times in jail. The savage
prisoner was glad to see the only man in New York with whom he
could
talk without restraint. I used to buy coffee in Sultan's place
and buy cigars of him, and he told me the story. He said that
Frenchy
admitted the crime to him."
8. "But his admission took a curious form. On the night of the
murder, Frenchy admitted he went to the room in which the
woman's
body lay. He handled the mutilated body, he said but would not
admit killing the woman. Sultan has been dead for years. I never
regarded what he told me as a secret, for he never treated it as
such."
Former Superintendent of Police Byrnes said:
9. "I have known of this confession a long while, but I have
preferred not to say anything about it. The case was so strong
it seemed
unnecessary to bring it up."
10."At the time of the trial I heard that Frenchy confessed to
Sultan that he had handled the body after the murder. I asked
Sultan
why he had not testified to that, and he said he did not
understand his oath obliged him to tell more than Frenchy said
under
examination. When the jury was out, Sultan said to me, " The
fellow deserves to die". I asked him what he meant by that and
he
replied: "He is not fit to live. I know him. He has told me."
NOT SURPRISED AT NEWS
11. Lawyer Emanuel M. Friend, who defended Frenchy, was not
surprised when told it was rumored Frenchy had confessed. "The
relation of attorney and client is sacred," said he, "and I can
therefore say nothing as to the actual guilt or innocence of
Frenchy.
I might say, however, that the result of the trial did not
astonish me."
12. "I have heard that Frenchy confessed," said De Lancey
Nicoll, who was district attorney when Frenchy was convicted.
"That is,
that he admitted handling the body after the murder. The
confession was made to his cellmate, a man accused of forgery. I
decided not to use the testimony, as it might be thought the man
was inventing a confession in order to help himself out of his
own
trouble. I thought the case strong enough with the witnesses we
already had."
13. "I have known for years that Frenchy was reported to have
confessed the crime," said Francis L. Wellman, who as assistant
district attorney, had actual charge of the prosecution. " The
fact that his counsel did not appeal for a new trial was
sufficient proof
that in getting a verdict of murder in the second degree the
counsel thought Frenchy was making a lucky escape."
CERTAIN OF HIS GUILT
14. "The evidence against Frenchy was absolutely clinching. The
scientific proof was most exact and overwhelming. I am as
certain
that Frenchy killed that old woman as I am that she was
murdered. Frenchy's confession is a mere corroborative detail."
15. Both Dr. Austin Flint and Dr. Cyrus Edson, the scientific
experts who testified at the case, are confident that Frenchy
was guilty.
The news that he was said to have made a confession was no
surprise to them.
16. Frenchy was pardoned about two months ago. and came at once
to New York from the State Asylum for the Criminal Insane at
Matteawan, where he had been confined. He spoke with great
bitterness against the police, and declared they had
manufactured
the evidence against him. He said they had cut his fingers and
feet to furnish the blood to make good their clues. He sailed at
once
for his home, a condition of his pardon by Governor Odell that
he would never return.
#Post#: 5029--------------------------------------------------
Re: A Review Of The Providence News Article: June 10, 1902
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: August 3, 2025, 8:25 am
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1- His name was Emile Sultan. A few articles refer to him, as
this one does, as Emilio.
An 1898 article which announced the suicide of a man in
Washington Park (NYC) was
almost certainly Sultan. His named was spelled Emil.
2- Despite the headline, Frenchy had admitted to being in the
room and handling the
body, but within this paragraph, he didn't admit to murdering
Brown.
In this paragraph, if Ali had admitted to being in the room and
merely handling the
body, it begs the question of how he entered the room.
It also means that regardless of whether C. Kniclo murdered
Brown or not, the door
was unlocked. Therefore, it leads me to believe that Eddie
Fitzgerald did not unlock
the door the next morning, but simply put his master key in the
door lock on the
outside.
3- Nicoll decided not to use the cellmate's story of Ali
confessing to him because it
might be viewed as an effort of an inmate to help his case (
forgery). Despite many
jailhouse snitches providing bogus information, the opposite is
also true and has
assisted many prosecutors in obtaining a conviction for a
loose-lipped inmate.
Additionally, the story told to the fellow inmate was hearsay.
Had either D.A. brought
this up, the defense would instantly object to it being brought
up. That Nicoll and
Wellman both felt their case was sufficient is another reason to
not bring it out in the
open.
4- Up until this article was found, the only newspaper it was
thought to appear in was
the Buffalo Courier, which ran an article featuring Thompson's
account of his chat with Sultan.
The Buffalo Courier article does not feature a date line, such
as "New York, June 10-"
The Buffalo Courier was published on June 12th, three days after
the gist of Thompson's
story appeared in the Philadelphia Record on June 9th and two
days after the article appeared in
the Providence News on the 10th. Both the Philadelphia ( my home
town) and Providence ( Nina's
home town) papers have date lines that indicate the story
emanated out of New York City.
There are occasions where the details of a story that an
out-of-town newspaper will carry came
out of New York City, but did not appear in newspapers in the
city, itself. We haven't found a
newspaper from New York City that carried the story and we're
still looking.
7- According to this paragraph, Ali felt comfortable talking
with Sultan. He did have two friends
in Brooklyn who visited him while he was in the Tombs, Jenalli &
Bozieb. It would understandable
that he'd be less likely to divulge anything related to the
handling of the body and especially
committing murder to the Brooklynites, who, in their own words,
considered him a good fellow.
Perhaps knowing that Sultan had been brought in by the French,
he may have felt at ease getting
things off his chest in front of someone who he believed was in
his corner. Sultan was brought in by the French
Consulate, for certain, but may have been a non-partisan
interpreter after all. See # 10
According to Thompson, Sultan told him that Ali confessed to
not only handling the body but
committing the 'crime'.
8- In this paragraph, Ali admits to handling the body but not
murdering her.
10-Inspector Byrnes states he knew of the confession at the time
of the trial. An important question
would be who told him. Byrnes does not say who, only that he
heard of the confession.
This indicates Sultan told someone or some others of the
confession while the trial was underway
or even before it.
Byrnes obviously knew that Sultan was brought in by the French.
Sultan was accepted by Judge Smyth
as he had worked cases before. Therefore, Sultan may not have
had any allegiance, technically, to either
the prosecution or the defense, his ties to the French Consul,
notwithstanding.
Sultan's comments to Byrnes as they waited for the jury to
return on July 3rd seem to indicate that Sultan didn't
buy the story of Ali simply handling the body after death, but
rather that he had murdered her.
11- That Friend wasn't surprised at the confession reveals an
unspoken doubt in his former client's innocence.
13- Wellman is incorrect in stating there was no appeal sent to
a higher court. That appeal was submitted by all
three defense attorneys on the day Ali was sentenced to Sing
Sing, July 10th. This may have been a mere formality
to satisfy Ali supporters ( and the French), as they do not
appear to have made any other appeals on his behalf.
Many of those not in Ali's corner may have thought Ali did have
a 'lucky escape'.
16- Ali was released from Dannemora, not Matteawan. His
sentenced was commuted. He did not receive a pardon.
#Post#: 5030--------------------------------------------------
Re: A Review Of The Providence News Article: June 10, 1902
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: August 3, 2025, 8:49 am
---------------------------------------------------------
No date line on the June 12th, 1902 Buffalo Courier.
HTML https://i.imgur.com/0snVRuJ.jpg
#Post#: 5031--------------------------------------------------
Re: A Review Of The Providence News Article: June 10, 1902
DIR By: Michael Banks
Date: August 3, 2025, 1:04 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Excellent find by Pete. The Brown/Damgaard network keeps finding
them.
So Byrnes didn’t mention the confession at the trial because he
thought that the case was strong enough and I can understand why
the Prosecution decided not to use it but why didn’t he bring it
up at the appeals? Surely it would have removed any possibility
of a favourable outcome for Ali and his team?
#Post#: 5032--------------------------------------------------
Re: A Review Of The Providence News Article: June 10, 1902
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: August 3, 2025, 1:40 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Mike:
Thanks for bringing that up.
The July 10th appeal from the defense never went anywhere.
Byrnes probably felt an appeal wouldn't amount to much. After
all, it would be difficult to prove in court.
Even if Sultan was put on a witness stand and repeated what Ali
told him, it wasn't proof beyond a reasonable doubt or
a means of slamming shut any potential appeal/release of the
convicted man.
In January 1893, Ali was in the Matteawan asylum, with little
chance of anyone, attorneys or the French, mounting an appeal.
The French-backed, Robillard-led campaigns didn't begin until
1897.
Byrnes left the NYPD in 1895.
Nicoll left the DA's office in 1893 and Wellman resigned as
asst. DA on November 23, 1894.
Two old maxims come to mind....
"Let sleeping dogs lie.."
If the defense didn't pursue an appeal, then any possible use of
the confession was unnecessary.
"It's water under the bridge...."
Shortly after the sentencing, life went back to normal for all
those involved. Other crimes to investigate, other defendants to
represent on the other side.
We are more interested in the case today in 2025 than the
participants on the prosecution side were after Ali was
sentenced.
The pardon campaigns brought the case back to life....but they
certainly wouldn't bring up the confession to Sultan. ;)
#Post#: 5035--------------------------------------------------
Re: A Review Of The Providence News Article: June 10, 1902
DIR By: Kattrup
Date: August 3, 2025, 2:44 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
It's odd that the story keeps mentioning a cellmate that Ali
supposedly confessed to. How did anyone learn that he had
confessed to the cellmate - did Ali himself tell that to Sultan,
or did the cellmate mention it to the police, perhaps looking
for a deal? That seems to me to be what Nicoll is saying.
Who was the cellmate - someone accused of forgery - and how did
Ali, the supposed non-english speaker, communicate with him?
Howard implied or suggested that maybe Elbogen was the man, but
Elbogen of course was not charged with forgery, but with
kidnapping (luring young women under promise of theatrical
careers).
Still, I think the suggestion has merit, Elbogen could actually
speak with Ali, and the article about Ali's confession is eleven
years after the facts, perhaps Nicoll misremembered the
cellmate's crime.
Note how in the other paper to carry the story, the Philadelphia
Record, Sultan himself is named as the cellmate!
At any rate, it seems Ali told his story to two people - Sultan
and the cellmate. Sultan told William H. Thompson, an actor who
then revealed it to the papers.
But from Nicoll's comments I would suggest he knew of the
confession from the cellmate, not from Sultan.
#Post#: 5038--------------------------------------------------
Re: A Review Of The Providence News Article: June 10, 1902
DIR By: HowBrown1953
Date: August 3, 2025, 3:46 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Elbogen could actually speak with Ali, and the article about
Ali's confession is eleven years after the facts, perhaps Nicoll
misremembered the cellmate's crime.
I agree Pete....Nicoll may have misremembered or, in fact, may
have changed the description of Elbogen's charge since
kidnapping was a more serious charge than forgery.
To me, it would make more sense to change the description of the
cellmate's charge, so as to avoid public scrutiny over the NYC
DA's office accepting the word of a kidnapper.
Forgers were a dime a dozen.
All of this...the newspaper reports & all they bring up....leads
us to consider why was Thompson the first person to publicly
mention the confession.
Consider that Ali had been out of the country for almost seven
weeks before the first report appeared in print.
Why, if the date line was from New York....The Phila Record had
a June 8 date line out of New York City...didn't this story
appear in New York papers such as the Times, Tribune, World,
Herald, Press, Evening Telegram, Evening Post, Evening World, or
any papers of note? I have scoured the hell out of every
newspaper in Old Fulton and Newspapers Com and have
come up with nothing.
The Record article does not mention Thompson....but the
Providence News did. I feel that Thompson told his story in New
York City
because the text in the earlier Providence paper with the NYC
dateline is found in the Buffalo article
Could Thompson have picked up a paper on June 9th and read the
Philadelphia paper while in New York City?
We don't know where Thompson was on June 8th, but we do know he
was in Buffalo on the 11th of June, if not earlier.
He appeared on stage on June 12th in Buffalo.
Another mystery, gents.
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