I was never really sure if Furnari has been convicted of rape until I found this little newspaper item. Now I know that it is true, although he was only convicted of attempted rape. Together with two other youngsters, Furnari was sentenced to a long prison term. This happened in 1943, when he was 19 years old. He still managed to get made once he was released from prison.

Published in New York PM Daily December 29, 1943:

"Judge Voices A Brancato"

"Jurist Expounds on Womanhood in Palermo"

"Kings County Judge Peter J. Brancato, who during the recent trial of a 14-year-old youth expressed approval of the old Western custom which gave the sheriff power to judge a man guilty and string him up, expressed a similar thought yesterday when he imposed heavy jail sentences on three young men found guilty of attempting to rape three girls during an auto ride.
"Had you committed the same crime in Palermo, a city that has deep respect for womanhood," Brancato said, "I dare say you never would have been brought to trial."
One of the defendants, Christopher Furnari, was sent to Sing Sing for 15 to 30 years. Nunzio Morrone and John Tellini each received 10- to 20-year terms."