The Hangman's Ropemaker: Michael Metz, the Italian Who Hanged

"Mr. Jacob Bopp, the rope maker of Wood's Run, who has probably made more hangmen's ropes than any other man in the State, has just completed one to be used in Fayette county on August 13. It consists of sixty-four strands, is three eighth of an inch thick and is thirty feet in length. It is the eighty-eighth made by Mr. Bopp, each of which was used in the execution of one criminal and one of them was used at two separate executions. Sheriff Sterling paid Mr. Bopp $25 for the rope and also gave him an invitation to be present at the execution so as to give any instructions that may be necessary. The condemned man is an Italian who murdered his cousin some time ago in Uniontown."

~ "A Hangman's Rope," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 2 August 1886, page 1

*This blog post is one in a series of blogs on my famous ancestor, Jacob Bupp, the Hangman's Ropemaker- click the page tab above labeled "The Hangman's Ropemaker" for more information and the blog series*

Michaelli Mezzi was also known as Michele, Michael and Mike Metz, Mezzi or Mezzo by the press, as his Italian name was spelled vastly different by multiple members of the English-speaking press.  (*note here* In fact, because of all of the butchered spellings, I am not even sure how his name was correctly spelled, so apologies to anyone looking for the correct spelling of the name).  He hailed from Italy, but was working in Pennsylvania as immigrant labor.

In September of 1885, Mezzi worked with a man by the name of Rocco Cassidenti (another Italian name that seemed to be horribly butchered spelling-wise by the press) on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, going back and forth between Fairmont, Pennsylvania and Morgantown, West Virginia.  Cassidenti was described as a fine looking man of about thirty years of age who had saved up enough money working the railroad to return to his native town in Italy and become a rich man.  On either the 22nd or the 24th of September 1885, Cassidenti withdrew the money from the bank, intending to head home.  Mezzi went with him to the bank, and then told friends later the same day that he had seen Cassidenti off on the train, bound for home.  Despite the quote in the newspaper that begins this blog, the two men were not related.

The body of Rocco Cassidenti was found two days later near a camp in Spring Hill Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania on the Uniontown road. The cause of death was ascertained as having been shot twice in the head.

Michael Matz suddenly appeared flush with money.  The girl he was too poor to marry was given dresses and gifts and a wedding day was suddenly fixed.  Money that was known to be Cassidente's money was found on him when he was arrested in Morgantown on 27 September 1885.  According to one newspaper account, Mezzi had on his person a new pocket watch, a new suit of clothes, and a revolver with three empty chambers, as well as over $100.

His trial happened the first week of March 1885 in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.  The evidence was circumstantial but was able to sway the jury into convicting him on 11 March 1885, despite his protestations of innocence.  His lawyers were afraid to put him on the stand, so he did not testify.

The case was not taken to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, which was unusual.  On 12 June 1886, Governor Robert Pattison signed the death warrant for Mezzi, and the date of his execution was set for  12 August 1886.  Unlike in Martin Weinberger's case, in which the consulate of his home country tried to intervene, Mezzi seemed to have almost been all but ignored by the Italian States, as made clear by the lawyer hired by the Italian Consulate:

"Edward Williard, Jr., returned yesterday from Uniontown, Fayette county, where he had been watching, in behalf of the Italian Consul, the trial of Mike Metz, whose real name is Michele Mezzo, for the murder of a brother emigrant named Rocco Cossidenti last September...........Mr. Williard does not think the Italian Government will interfere." ("Counsel for a Consul," The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 21 July 1886, page 5)

Michael Metz was hanged on 12 August 1886 in the county jail yard at Uniontown, Pennsylvania.  The day he was hanged seemed like a celebration.  Uniontown was crowded with spectators wearing holiday attire, but only those ninety-nine people who held admission tickets were allowed to watch the hanging.  According to one newspaper account, two visiting Italians were among those who were admitted.  At 2 o'clock, the hanging took place.  Ultimately, he was strangled by the rope, as the drop did not result in a broken neck.  In his will, he left a house and lot in Italy to a cousin in New York.  He was buried in an unmarked grave in a potter's field without ceremony.

Jacob Bupp was named as the manufacturer of the rope that took Mezzi's life, but it is unknown if he made the roughly fifty mile trip from Allegheny City to Uniontown to watch the spectacle, even though he was invited.

Sources Used and Referenced:
"A Fayette County Hanging," The Times (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 13 August 1886, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 2 July 2019).

"A Hangman's Rope," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 2 August 1886, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 25 September 2017).

"An Italian to Hang," Harrisburgh Telegraph (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania), 12 June 1886, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 2 July 2019).

"For a Brutal Murder: An Unknown Italian Arrested at Morgantown, W. Va.," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 28 September 1885, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 1 July 2019).

"Counsel for a Consul," The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 21 July 1886, page 5; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 2 July 2019).

"The Italian Will Have to Hang," The Somerset Herald (Somerset, Pennsylvania), 17 March 1886, page 3; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 2 July 2019).

"The Metz Execution," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 9 August 1886, page 4; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 25 September 2017).

"Murder in the First Degree," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 12 March 1886, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 2 July 2019).

"The Uniontown Execution," Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), 13 August 1886, page 1; online images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 11 October 2017).