Biography
Michael Palumbo was a New York anti-fascist who attended a Khaki Shirts rally in Astoria on July 14, 1933 with other opponents of the fascist organization. A Khaki Shirt shot and killed anti-fascist student Antonio Fierro during the confrontation. Police arrested Palumbo and Athos Terzani, although both men identified a uniformed Khaki Shirt as the gunman. Palumbo was accused of stabbing Harry Fiscio and held on a felonious-assault charge. The International Labor Defense obtained his release on $1,500 bail on July 21; the charge was dismissed on July 24, 1933, and his release described as unconditional.
Labor Defender, August 1933, PDF page 11: Louis Colman reports that Palumbo, arrested with Athos Terzani after the Khaki Shirts shooting in Long Island City, was released after being held ten days on a felonious-assault accusation. This retrospective ten-day statement conflicts with the separately documented July 21 physical bail release after the July 14 arrest; it does not replace that custody interval or make the July 24 dismissal a new physical release. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/labordefender/1933/v09n08-aug-1933-lab-def.pdf#page=11
The July 22 issue explicitly reports Palumbo’s completed release on $1,500 bail the previous day, July 21. Bail had been reduced from $10,000 after ILD attorney Joseph Tauber presented habeas corpus papers. Harry Fiscio, the purported stabbing victim, admitted in Philadelphia Thursday that he did not know who committed the act; the paper says he was walking around while allegedly too ill to attend court. The Monday hearing remained prospective here, separate from the already documented later dismissal. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1933/v10-n175-NY-jul-22-1933-DW-LOC.pdf#page=3
A postponed hearing and unsuccessful bail-reduction request
The July 20 report says Michael Palumbo’s hearing on the felonious-assault charge was postponed until Friday because the witness against him was said to be recovering from stab wounds. It identifies Joseph Tauber as his International Labor Defense attorney and says a request to reduce bail to $500 was denied, leaving bail at $10,000. The original print, rather than OCR, is followed for that amount. The article announces that a habeas-corpus application seeking his immediate release will be heard that morning in Queens Supreme Court; that scheduled application is not proof of actual release. The report and adjacent group caption document his continued custody after the preceding day’s hearing. They do not replace the separately recorded July 21 bail release, subsequent dismissal or seven-day custody record, and do not map either named prisoner to an individual face in the photograph.
Daily Worker, July 20, 1933, original pages 1. Accounts and allegations are attributed to the newspaper.
The review says the anti-fascist arrested with Terzani was unconditionally released and the felonious-assault case ended. This is distinct from the earlier bail stage already recorded; the review gives no exact final discharge day.
The reported July 24 dismissal, distinct from earlier bail release
The July 25 Daily Worker reports that the felonious-assault case against Michael Palumbo was thrown out of court yesterday morning, contextually July 24, 1933. It names Magistrate August Dryer and ILD attorney Joseph Tauber and says the accuser, Harry Fruscio, admitted he could not identify who had stabbed him. This is the later dismissal of the existing July 14 prosecution, not a second arrest or a new physical release on July 24. The earlier July 21 bail release remains unchanged. The article describes a week in jail and separately quotes a complaint about ten days under arrest; that wording is preserved as a source-duration distinction, not used to replace the existing seven-day counter.
Daily Worker, July 25, 1933, original page 1. Contemporary allegations are attributed to the newspaper.
His wife’s contemporary account of the defense campaign
A letter signed Freda Palumbo thanks the International Labor Defense for its work on her husband Michael Palumbo’s case. The accompanying report describes his release as unconditional and links the prosecution to the Khaki Shirts confrontation in which Anthony Fierro was killed. This is a contemporary family and defense-campaign account corroborating the already recorded favorable disposition, not a separate imprisonment or an independently dated physical discharge. It does not replace the separately recorded July 21 bail release, later dismissal or seven-day custody entry. The page also prints a photograph individually captioned Michael Palumbo; its identity comes from that caption and article, not facial comparison. The source PDF is indexed as August 1, 1933, but this original page’s running date reads July 31; no new event day is inferred from the inconsistent header.
Daily Worker, indexed August 1, 1933, original page 2. Contemporary claims remain attributed to the newspaper and identified speakers.
