United States v. Gallucci

54 F. Supp. 964, 1944 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2528
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedMarch 21, 1944
DocketCivil Action No. 2355
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 54 F. Supp. 964 (United States v. Gallucci) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Gallucci, 54 F. Supp. 964, 1944 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2528 (D. Mass. 1944).

Opinion

FORD, District Judge.

This proceeding to cancel Certificate of Naturalization Number 4921912 issued on August 6, 1940, to the defendant, Francesco Paolo Gallucci, was begun on June 23, 1943, under the provisions of Sec. 338 of the Nationality Act of 1940, 54 Stat. 1137, 1158, 8 U.S.C.A., § 738.

The grounds assigned by the United States for revoking the decree and cancel-ling the certificate of naturalization are (1) that the representations made by defendant in his petition for naturalization were false and fraudulent in that he was not in fact attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States at the time he filed said petition nor during the five previous years; (2) that he did not in good faith intend to renounce absolutely and forever all allegiance and fidelity to Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy, of whom he was then a subject; (3) that he did not in fact reside or intend to reside permanently in the United States, at the time he filed his petition for naturalization nor during the three years immediately prior thereto. The government further assigns that all the representations made by the defendant in his oath of allegiance were false and fraudulent in that (1) he did not in fact renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy; (2) he did not in fact intend to support the Constitution and laws of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; and he did not in fact intend to bear true faith and allegiance to the same, but did in fact intend to remain a subject of and maintain allegiance to Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy.

The defendant’s answer denies that any of the representations made by him either in his petition for naturalization or in his oath of allegiance were false or fraudulent. It sets up as matters of further defense a plea of res adjudicata and the unconstitutionality of certain sections of an Act of Congress, Act of June 29, 1906, c. 3592, §§ 15, 23, 34 Stat. 601, 603, as amended May 9, 1918, c. 69, § 1, 40 Stat. 544, not involved in this proceeding.

The undisputed data concerning defendant’s general background and activities are as follows: Francesco Paolo Gallucci was born a subject of the Kingdom of Italy, in Naples, Italy, on March 19, 1903. He joined the Fascist Party of Italy in 1920, at the age of seventeen, and became a lieutenant in the Squadristi, an elite organization of Fascists who were affiliated with the party from 1919 to Í920. He was a member of the Squadristi at the time of the march on Rome in 1922 and admittedly a dues-paying member of the Fascist Party at least until 1933. On April 30, 1930, he was married to Josephine Nardi, a native born citizen of the United States, at Naples, Italy, where he continued to reside until his arrival with his wife at the port of New York, on October 28, 1933. From October 28, 1933, to the present time, defendant has continuously resided in Boston, Massachusetts, or its environs, with the exception of two periods from January 10, 1937, to March 25, 1937, and March 13 or 16, 1940, to July 23 or 25, 1940, during which he returned to Italy. Until 1937 or 1938, when he entered the radio advertising business the defendant was engaged in no gainful occupation in this country. He was, however, an organizer and charter member and has at all times been president of the Federazione Dopolavoro del Massachusetts, Inc. (hereinafter called the “Society”), which was comprised of a central organization with subsidiary chapters and which was incorporated under the laws of the State of Massachusetts, on October 16, 1936.

On March 7, 1940, the defendant filed petition for naturalization No. 209735 in this court. He took the prescribed oath of allegiance and was admitted to citizenship on' August 6, 1940. On June 23, 1943, the government filed its complaint seeking revocation of the decree of naturalization, cancellation and surrender of the Certifi[966]*966cate of Naturalization and seeking to enjoin the defendant from claiming any of the rights or privileges of citizenship accruing thereunder.

The charge against the defendant which the government has most clearly sustained is that although he declared (1) in a declaration of intention dated 1935,1 (2) in a preliminary form for petition for naturalization, and (3) in his petition for naturalization, his intention to renounce absolutely and forever all allegiance to Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy, and in his oath of allegiance swore to renounce entirely and to abjure all allegiance to the same monarch, the defendant fraudulently misrepresented an allegiance to the United States which he did not in fact entertain and fraudulently concealed his real allegiance to Italy.

There can be no doubt that the Act of 1906 under which the defendant Gallucci was naturalized contemplated an absolute and unconditional renunciation of his former allegiance and transfer of his allegiance to the United States. The first subdivision of -section 4 of the Act of 1906, 34 Stat. 596, as amended, 45 Stat. 1545, 53 Stat. 843, required the applicant for citizenship in his declaration of intention to state under oath “that it is bona fide his intention to become a citizen of the United States, and to renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign, prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, and particularly, by name, to the prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of which the alien may be at the time a citizen or subject”. The second subdivision of section 4 of the 1906 Act required the applicant in his petition for naturalization to state his intention to renounce “all” his former allegiance “absolutely and- forever”. The third subdivision used the words “absolutely and entirely” and required him to declare on his oath in open court by way of additional emphasis that he “abjure” as well as renounce all former loyalties. Judicial decisions have supported the plain and obvious meaning of the words of the statute. One who seeks American citizenship by naturalization must do so without any mental reservation. If he does not do so he is guilty of fraud. United States v. Kramer, 262 F. 395, 397; United States v. Kuhn et al., D.C., 49 F. Supp. 407, 411, 412; United States v. Mickley, D.C., 44 F.Supp. 735, 738.

Of course, Congress did not intend that the new citizen be required to renounce any sentimental fondness or affection he might have for his native land (United States v. Kuhn et al., supra, 49 F.Supp. at page 412), and in some cases the line between allegiance and affection may be difficult to draw. An important test, however, is the applicant’s unreserved willingness (except for possible conscientious or religious scruples sanctioned by Congress, see United States v. Macintosh, 283 U.S. 605, 51 S.Ct. 570, 75 L.Ed. 1302) to bear arms in support of his newly adopted country against the land of his origin. There is no question or contention here of a conscientious objection against the bearing of arms.

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Bluebook (online)
54 F. Supp. 964, 1944 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2528, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-gallucci-mad-1944.