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 Florence Lassandro kindles romantic curiosity and speculation more than
any other figure associated with the Fall of Emperor Pic.
Perhaps it is
because she evokes in the imagination a dramatic era in Alberta’s past when
contraband liquor and rumrunners made their way across the borders of the
Canadian West. Maybe it is because she was considered by so many to be a
naïve girl who was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or, perhaps,
it is because she was the first and final woman ever to be hanged in
Alberta.
Whatever the reason, the enigmatic Florence left no jailhouse diary for
us to study and few indisputable facts remain. What
 we do know, however, is
this. She was born Philomena Costanzo in 1901 in Calabria, Italy. As a young
girl she immigrated to Canada with her parents, part of the wave of immigrants that flowed into the country from
Italy and Eastern Europe. Her family eventually settled and grew in Fernie,
British Columbia, lured west like so many immigrant families by the promise
of work in the coalmines of the Crowsnest Pass.
As a teenager in Fernie, Florence was married to Charles Lassandro, né
Carlo Sanfidele, also an Italian immigrant. Charles was years older than
Florence and a
friend and employee of Emilio Picariello.
 For a time the couple relocated to
the United States as Charles tried one unsuccessful venture after another
(during which time he changed his last name to Lassandro to avoid an
immigration dispute), before eventually settling in Blairmore, Alberta.
There, Florence again came in contact with Emilio, as
Charles was rehired by
his old friend and employer, now the owner of the Alberta Hotel and a
reputed bootlegger. And, on May 2, 1923, Florence Lassandro was executed
moments after Emilio at the Fort Saskatchewan jail, both hung for the murder
of Constable Stephen Lawson.
While these are some of the facts concerning Florence Lassandro, they do
not tell us a great deal about the 22-year-old woman who was at the heart of
one of Alberta’s most intriguing criminal cases. The
circumstances surrounding her marriage, her role in the shooting of
Constable Lawson, her motivations on the day of the crime and her
relationship with Emilio Picariello are just a few of the ambiguous
aspects of her life that have been the fodder for many writers and
historians.
 According to historian Jock Carpenter, Florence was reluctant to marry
Charles, an aversion that never gave way to any true affection toward her
husband.1 In fact, at the time of the shooting of Lawson, Florence was
living apart from Charles and with Emilio and his wife Maria. This fact
alone contributed to speculation at the time about the actual nature of the
relationship between Florence and the Picariellos. Was she Emilio’s
mistress? Was she simply the wife of a business associate? Perhaps, many
wagered, she was in love with Emilio’s son, Steve. After all, Florence
claimed that she was in the car with Emilio that day because she was “fond
of Steve.”
2
Regardless of the statement, the true reasons for Florence’s involvement
in the crime were not proven during the trial. Whether or not she felt remorse for the death of
 Steve Lawson
also remains a mystery. During the trial she remained silent and did not
take the witness stand in her defense. According to Jock Carpenter,
however, Florence deteriorated mentally and physically, weeping in the
courtroom and in the days leading up to the scheduled execution and consulting with a priest. Although she was finding solace in her renewed faith,
she apparently did not talk about the shooting or once ask to see Emilio.3
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Heritage Community Foundation Presents
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: 290-318.</span></p>Lethbridge Daily Herald</i>, December 3, 1922.',0);)
