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Record Group Number: 800000
Series/Collection Number: .L 47
Creator: Dade County (Fla.). Criminal Court of Record.
Title, Dates: Zangara case files, 1933.
Amount: 0.25 cubic ft.
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Organization/Arrangement: Numerical.
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Biographical/Historical:     Joseph Zangara (alias Guissepi Zangara) was an Italian immigrant who attempted to assassinate president-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt.  Zangara had a strong hatred towards all persons in positions of authority.  On February 15, 1933, Zangara attended a speech given by Roosevelt at Bayfront Park in Miami, Florida.  When Roosevelt had finished his talk and was preparing to leave, Zangara pulled out a pistol and opened fire.  A bystander deflected the assassin's aim by pushing his arm into the air.  Zangara wounded five people who had been near the president-elect, two of them seriously.  Most critically injured was Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak, who was struck by the bullet in the chest which then lodged in his spine.
    Zangara was immediately charged with four counts of attempted murder.  He was not charged initially with the wounding of Cermak, as authorities waited to see if the mayor's wounds would prove fatal.  The State charged Zangara for attempting to murder Franklin Roosevelt, Russell Caldwell, Margaret Kruise, and William Sinnott.  Zangara was found guilty on each count and sentenced to four consecutive twenty-year terms.

    On March 6, Mayor Cermak died from complications stemming from the shooting.  The same day, Zangara was indicted by a grand jury and charged with first degree murder in the death of Cermak.  His trial began on March 9 and ended on March 11 with a guilty verdict and a death sentence.  The prisoner was transported to the Florida State Prison at Raiford, where he was executed on March 20, 1933.
Summary:     This series contains the case files, dated 1933, of Joseph Zangara, alias Guissepi Zangara, maintained by the Criminal Court of Record of Dade County, Florida.  The case files #2262-2265 reflect the trial of Zangara, who killed one person and wounded four others in his attempt to assassinate president-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt.  This collection deals with the four counts of attempted murder that Zangara was charged with and subsequently found guilty.  The four victims Zangara was charged with include Franklin D. Roosevelt, Russell Caldwell, Margaret Kruise, and William Sinnott.
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Subject Access Fields: Roosevelt, Franklin D. 1882-1945 (Franklin Delano),
Zangara, Giuseppe, 1900-1933.
Court records Florida --Dade County
Assassination attempts.
Judicial records. aat
Miami (Fla.)
Dade County (Fla.)
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