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Man allegedly shoots wife in Brooklyn but reports it in Smithtown.

Smithtown-Man arrested for allegedly shooting ex wife in Brooklyn then driving to Smithtown and reporting it in 1959. Newsday 7-3-1959 reports that a convicted rapist was held without bail on charges that he shot his ex-wife in front of a Brooklyn tavern. Then, police said, he drove the bleeding unconscious woman to Smithtown in an effort to get medical attention without attracting the police.

Michael Andrew Viggiano 23, of 1244 East 89th Street in Brooklyn, was arraigned in Brooklyn Felony Court on gun and felony assault charges. Viggiano, who was paroled from prison three weeks ago after serving a year for rape, was held for a hearing Tuesday. Viggiano was picked up by Smithtown Police aftter he called for medical aid. At first he told police that his ex-wife Marie, 21 was wounded when unknown robbers attacked them while they sat in their parked car on the Smithtown By-Pass. Captain M. H. Hesse and Detective Thomas Poveromo, however, doubted the story when they found a .45-cal automatic on the floor of the car. Marie was taken to Mather Hospital where she told police that her ex-husband shot her during a jealous rage in front of a Brooklyn tavern. Police confronted Viggiano with this information and after six hours of questioning he changed his story.

Viggiano told police that though he was divorced he was still jealous of his wife and wanted to make up with her. He was quoted as saying that he found her with another man in a Brooklyn tavern, beat up the man and then went to his car to get the gun. He returned to the tavern, police said, pistol whipped his wife and dragged her to the car where he struck her again, causing the gun to accidentally discharge. The bullet went through her left shoulder and she fainted. Poveromo said that Viggiano panicked when the gun went off. Viggiano told police that he pushed the woman into the car and drove out to Suffolk where he hoped to get a doctor. Together they cooked up the holdup story, police said. Police said that Mrs Viggiano went along with the story until she was rushed to the hospital. She was released the next day.

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