An election-eve parade and rally by Democrats was fired on by multiple shooters as it passed the home of Joseph James Bruno, known as "Big Joe", the local Republican boss.

[7][Note 1] James Biaggio Bruno first emigrated from Italy in 1877, and went back several times, in 1882 marrying Marie Antonia (Abbato).

[8] In Kelayres, the elected school boards had the power to hire and fire schoolteachers, and related contract work was subject to cronyism.

His brother Louis, the acknowledged brains of the family, was killed in an automobile accident, and Bruno's ways of dealing with opposition became cruder and more antagonizing.

Nevertheless, Pennsylvania Democrats felt they had made progress, and campaigned heavily in local elections in 1933 and 1934.

In Kelayres, a rival family, members of the McAloose clan[Note 2] swept the local 1933 elections, advocating a teachers' union and other protections against nepotism and cronyism.

Meanwhile, neither faction recognized the other's legitimacy, resulting in competing slates of schoolteachers, tax collectors, and bus drivers.

[14][15] Across the street on the northwest corner was the Marko building,[Note 3] occupied by A. J. Payer's butcher shop and two families, including the Fiorillas, who had switched allegiance from Bruno to McAloose, in politics and in a marriage.

About 8 pm, a car containing Bruno's daughter, Antoinette Billig, and others was jeered at by children supporting the Democrats.

The parade headed east up Center and turned south along Fourth, in a show to deliberately taunt Bruno and his supporters.

Immediately afterwards, several rifles and shotguns were fired repeatedly with some lulls, so rapidly that initial reports mentioned machine guns.

[21] Arrested that morning, or held as material witnesses, were Bruno, wife Cecilia, daughter Elveda, sons Alfred and James, sister Lucy, brother Phil, nephews Paul and Arthur, nephew Toney Orlando, a bus driver, and three Bruno-appointed teachers.

Democrats portrayed the massacre as Republican political activity: Northeastern Pennsylvania last night was treated to the ultimate in Republican persuasiveness when machine gunners operating in the interests of 'Wee Willie' Schnader ... mowed down and slew three unarmed marchers in a Democratic paradeRepublicans also commented on the massacre, emphasizing it was a local, ethnic or factional dispute.

[22] State Attorney General William A. Schnader was the Republican gubernatorial candidate, and promised a full investigation.

[5][24] The top newly elected state politicians and cabinet-designates, all Democrats, attended the funerals on Friday, November 9, including Senator-elect Joseph F. Guffey, Governor-elect George Earle, Lieutenant Governor-elect Thomas Kennedy, and Attorney General-designate Charles J. Margiotti.

Also in attendance was the former Secretary of the Commonwealth, Richard J. Beamish, who had resigned earlier in the year to support Democratic candidates in his role as a newspaperman.

They were allowed to wear ordinary clothing, take food deliveries, they had their own cell keys, they were not kept to hours, and visitors were unsupervised.

The victims were Frank Fiorilla, Andrew Kostishion, Dominic Perna, Josh Galosky, and William Forke.

Two defense witnesses, relatives Jennie and Lucy Bruno, claimed Dan McAloose had fired shots.

[39] The two Republican members, Alvin Maurer and Philip Ehrig, of the County Commission[Note 4] ordered Warden Herbert Gosselin to allow even more leniencies, and unsupervised family visits increased.

[40] On December 8, the two Commissioners filled a prison guard vacancy with the inexperienced Guy "Speck" Irving, also over the Warden's objection.

On December 17, daughter Antoinette visited four times, ostensibly regarding the handling of family financial matters in Bruno's absence, but later admitted to delivering $1000.

[41] That evening Bruno complained of a toothache, and he arranged a visit to the Pottsville dentist for the morning of December 18.

He disputed Irving's account, and claimed that the guard drove Bruno directly to a rendezvous location and then waited several hours to report.

[44][45][46] On December 19, Judge Hicks had Gosselin, Walker, Irving imprisoned on various charges, and set bail at $15,000 each.

Daughter Antoinette Billig was also arrested, but state Attorney General originally would not allow bail to be set for her, until her husband provided information about the escape[47] On December 21, Margiotti accused the two Republican commissioners of hampering the investigation.

[48] Lewis Buono[Note 6] was the Chief Detective of Schuylkill County in the 1930s, and assumed control of the hunt for Bruno, his former employee.

On August 22, 1937, a tip led Buono to a rooming house in Manhattan, where Bruno was seized without a struggle as he returned.