On September 29, 1956, 63-year-old gas station attendant Henry Allison was robbed of $260 in Brooklyn, New York. Two men in their early twenties, Carmine J. Gotti, a pants presser, and John F. Gilbert, a chauffeur, neither of who had a criminal record, were arrested after being identified by Allison. Gotti and Gilbert were held in jail until their January 1957 trial. At the trial, Allison again identified the two men as the robbers. On January 25, 1957, Gotti and Gilbert were convicted. They faced maximum sentences of ten years in prison. However, when the men returned to jail to await sentencing, they met John Mascia, who was in jail on robbery charges. During questioning by detectives, Mascia confessed to the robbery of Henry Allison and implicated an accomplice as well. Based on Mascia’s confession, Gotti and Gilbert were released on bail on March 7, 1957, but Judge Carmine Marasco stated that he could not dismiss the charges against them until he was “satisfied in [his] heart and mind” regarding their innocence. On June 25, 1957, feeling fully convinced of the innocence of Gotti and Gilbert, Judge Marasco dismissed the charges against them. - Meghan Barrett Cousino
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