DeGeorge shot Him In Teamster Gunplay Defendant Tells Jury
By Frank McDevitt
Of The Inquirer Staff
Feb. 07 1969

Joseph (Chickie) Ciancaglini, self styled Teamster union "guard" testified Thursday that he was shot by dissident Teamster Robert A. DeGorge in gunplay in which DeGeorge was killed in front of Local 107 headquarters.

Ciancaglini took the witness stand in his own defense in the murder trial before jury in Judge James T. McDermott's Criminal Court. Four other mean als are charged in DeGeorge's slaying on Aug. 17, 1987.

Defense attorney A. Charles Peruto asked Ciancaglini only two questions:

"Who shot you?" and "Did you have a gun in your hand?"

"DeGeorge," said Ciancaglini to the first and "No," to the second.

The rest of Ciancaglini's story of the shootout at Front and Spring Garden Sts was told under cross examination by Assistant District Attornry Michael Baylson.

Ciancaglini said he had been hired as a "guard" by Loca 107 officers who were expecting "trouble" from the dissent faction.

DeGeorge drove up with two other men in a black Cadillac. Ciancaglini said he was ordered by Francis J. Sheeran, union business agent, to tell DeGeorge to move on because we "don't want any trouble".

"I went across the street and told him to move," Ciancaglini said. "I put my hands on the car door and told DeGeorge, "Why don't you move because we don't want no trouble today?"

Ciancaglini said to DeGeorge lifted an arm rest which divided the front seat of the car, revealing two guns. Seated in the front seat on the passenger's side was a friend of DeGeorge. James Cheri, also a dissident.

"He told Cheri to take one and he shoved the door open and I backed up," Ciancaglini testified. "As I backed up, he said, making a shoving motion, "to get away from him and he hit me in the side here."

"With what?" Baylson asked.

"With the bullet, the gun that fired," Ciancaglini said.

Ciancaglini said he ran and was hit twice in the back as her fled. He eventually appeared at Methodist Hospital. The defendant admitted he had lied to police who questioned him at the hospital when he told them he had not been at the scene of the shootout.