The violent killing squad in the 1970s and early 1980s known as the DeMeo Crew by most accounts killed upwards of 200 people. They were sadistic and hungry to build their numbers, a modern day Murder Inc. This list is here to give a name to those victims. Most of the victim stories will unfortunately never come to light, but these are the stories of the known victims of Roy DeMeo and his crew.
1973
Paul Rothenberg (7/29/1973) Rothenberg was the owner of an illegal pornography production and distribution operation, probably the biggest of its’ kind in New York. He was being extorted by Nino Gaggi and Roy DeMeo. Rothenberg’s operation was raided and he started cooperating reluctantly, informing of the extortion and Roy’s name.
Nino decided that it would be too risky to let Rothenberg live. He ordered DeMeo to kill Rothenberg, which he did. It was possibly his first killing for Nino and the Gambinos, but that will likely never be known. Rothenberg was lured to a meeting where he was ambushed by Roy upon arrival. Since the shooting was in a public place, there was Gemini method used.
1975
Andrei Katz (6/13/1975) Roy DeMeo, Joey Testa, Henry Borelli, Chris Rosenberg and Anthony Senter killed Andrei Katz. It was their first joint murder as the DeMeo Crew. A deal where Andrei bought stolen cars from Chris had gone horribly bad and Andrei went to the authorities.
Chris was by far the most aggressive and savage killer on this night, as he’d previously been shot in the face by Katz. He stabbed Katz repeatedly with a butcher knife and later stuffed his severed head in a cardboard compactor. They all cut his body up and packaged the pieces before throwing them in the dumpster out back.
Joey Testa and Henry Borelli were arrested in connection with this murder but later beat the case when the witness disappeared. It was a sloppily executed killing and disposal which led to Roy coming up with a more systematic approach for further killing called “the Gemini Method”.
1976
Joseph Brocchini (5/20/1976) Joe “Bikini” Brocchini was a fellow mobster who got into a fistfight with Roy and battered Roy’s face. DeMeo refused to accept the beating and got permission from Nino to do the hit. Nino told Roy to make the murder look like a robbery to avoid suspicion, Brocchini was a made man in the Lucchese family.
Roy and Henry Borelli ransacked his office, held employees hostage and then killed Brocchini. They were supposed to get permission from Castellano before any killings, but Nino decided to go off record for Roy. They wouldn’t get implicated in this murder until much later when Roy was already dead and Nino in prison.
Vincent Governara (6/12/1976) Murdered by Nino Gaggi and Roy DeMeo with Dominick Montiglio present. Governara had once beaten Nino up and broke his nose in a street fight. Gaggi spent years trying to get revenge, even bombing his car at one point.
Governara left the neighborhood for years after that incident. Then he made the fatal mistake of underestimating Nino’s anger and returning. Vinny would remain in the hospital alive for a week before finally succumbing.
George Byrum (7/13/1976) Byrum was an electrical contractor who oversaw the wiring of Nino’s vacation home in Hallandale, Florida. Nino and his wife Rose were home one night when two men broke into their house, beat Nino up and robbed him. It was later found out by Nino that Bynum provided the crooks with the information needed to pull off the crime.
Targeting Nino was foolish and proved to be suicide for Byrum. He got a call from a prospective client one morning, and made plans to meet that man at his hotel room. Unfortunately for him, the man on the other end of the line was Roy DeMeo and he wasn’t looking for an electrician.
When Byrum got to the hotel room, Roy shot him and then started doing his ceremonial Gemini Method routine. At some point early on, DeMeo was spooked by activities going on outside and decided to leave without finishing the job. He left Byrum’s butchered body in the bathroom where it was found the next morning by an unsuspecting housekeeper. The front desk clerk who checked in the guest later identified Roy DeMeo as the man he checked in, and Nino Gaggi being with him.
1977
Charles “Ruby” Stein (May 5, 1977) Ruby was mostly murdered by members of the Westies, but crew member Danny Grillo was a participant in his killing. Coonan used Roy’s “no body, no crime” theory and dismembered Stein. Danny was the DeMeo Crew member who introduced the crew to the Westies and was a pretty busy guy.
Danny would be involved in the Mickey Spillane hit a week later. It was easy to see the influence of Roy himself, even though he wasn’t there. The disposal was done sloppily and Stein’s bloated torso washed ashore, the head was not attached.
Mickey Spillane (5/13/1977) Spillane was the long time leader of the west side rackets. He got in trouble by challenging the Italians regarding profits on the construction of the Javitz Convention Center. Roy shot Spillane to death outside of Spillane’s home. Roy was accompanied by Danny Grillo and most of his other top shooters. DeMeo was killing two birds with one stone on this murder.
His guys wanted Spillane gone but so did Jimmy Coonan. Jimmy was trying to take over the west side which he could now do, and now he owed Roy. DeMeo would get a percentage of Coonan’s rackets and Roy DeMeo would finally become a made man as a result of the financial windfall.
Jerome Hofaker (June 1977) This killing was done by Joey Testa and Anthony Senter, the Gemini twins. He was shot in front of his girlfriend’s house after getting into a fight with Joey’s brother Dennis Testa. The brother of the girlfriend actually witnessed the shooting but was frightened and did not cooperate. He knew enough of the DeMeo Crew to understand that him and his sister would be next.
John Quinn & Cherie Golden (July 20, 1977) Quinn was involved in the stolen car business with the DeMeo crew. He got into some legal trouble and it was discovered that he gave information to authorities. Roy decided to kill Quinn and his 19 year old girlfriend Cherie Golden, who also knew a little too much.
They were both shot but not dismembered, bodies put in their car and dropped off on a nearby road. The Golden murder made Paul Castellano uncomfortable, killing a 19 year old young lady was bad for business and reckless.Roy was bringing in too much money and he did not take any serious action on DeMeo or his crew.
Daniel Conti(10/29/1977) Conti was the brother in law of crew member Peter LaFroscia and sometimes worked smaller jobs with the crew himself. He was involved in a hijacking attempt that went bad. An investigation was started and Conti was seen as a potential snitcher. His brother in law Peter did the set up and killed him with Roy.
John Costello (November 1977) He was involved in the same failed hijacking as Conti and also seen as a weak link. Roy and Peter LaFroscia killed Costello shortly after Conti. His body was found on November 14, 1977 in the trunk of his car in Brooklyn.
1978
Michael Mandelino & Nino Martini (3/19/1978) Mantellino was a loosely affiliated associate of the crew who spent some significant time around Peter LaFroscia. When LaFroscia’s home was robbed, Mandelino was suspected of tipping of the robbers. He was summoned to a local body shop where he was gunned down and then stuffed in a car.
Nino had simply been a friend of Mandelino who came along with him that day. His body was dumped in the same car. The crew drove the car to a run down road and dropped it off. This appeared to be one of those murders that DeMeo wanted the public to see. The two men were wrapped in tarps bound together with cords, a classic mob style execution.
Patrick Presenzano (3/23/1978) Patrick was said to have stolen jewelry from an associate of Roy DeMeo. He was given the opportunity to return the jewelry, but refused to do it. He rubbed salt in the wound by wearing it around town and Roy decided that he must be dealt with accordingly.
Roy personally shot Presenzano and cut his throat from ear to ear. He was then tossed into the back seat of a car and dumped off. Roy pulled his pants and underwear down in an attempt to confuse the police into thinking it was a sex related crime. Roy’s crew like to use this tactic and had done it previously with bodies they hadn’t chopped up.
Kevin Guelli( 6/9/1978) The mistake that cost Kevin Guelli his life was underestimating how dangerous Chris Rosenberg was. They were associates who used and dealt in cocaine together. Guelli talked Chris into loaning him $10,000 so he could do a coke deal.
What happened with this deal is unknown, but when Rosenberg showed up looking for his money Guelli told him that he’d been ripped off. Chris shot him dead on the spot. Chris didn’t mind losing a little bit of money to make an example out of Kevin Guelli.
Michael DiCarlo(5/16/1978) The murder of Michael DiCarlo was a contract hit done at the request of the Lucchese family. DiCarlo, a bodybuilder known as “Mikey Muscles” was a low level Lucchese associate who was accused of molesting a young boy. Roy marveled to Dominick Montiglio how Anthony Senter had to use a hammer on DiCarlo because he just wouldn’t die already.
Roy’s cousin Joe “Dracula” Guglielmo bragged about jamming a broomstick up Mikey Muscles’ rectum. The crew took particular joy in how Mikey Muscles was punished before dying. DiCarlo was eventually disposed of via the Gemini method.
Joseph Scorney(9/28/1978) This murder was ordered by Roy and carried out by new crew member Vito Arena and Richie DiNome, Freddy’s younger brother. Scorney was involved with stealing cars but was very resistant to doing business with the mafia. Vito shot Scorney and then DiNome proceeded to beat him to death with a hammer, possibly inspired by the Mikey Muscles killing.
Scorney’s body was stuffed into a 55 gallon drum and dumped off a fishing pier. This killing would earn Vito and Richie full time jobs with Roy but it would also come back to haunt DeMeo when Arena switched sides a few years later. Vito would lead detectives to the body.
Danny Grillo (November 14, 1978) A member of the DeMeo Crew who fell into debt with Roy which he failed to pay, thus leading to him becoming a victim of the Gemini method. Danny Grillo was the first real crew member to be killed but he would be far from the last.
Roy had first thought of killing Danny after Grillo and the Westies murdered Ruby Stein. Grillo had been on thin ice for a while. Dominick Montiglio who was Danny’s friend and knew of the plot never informed Grillo. He was stunned and disgusted to see Chris and the Gemini twins laughing about the incident a week later.
Gary Gardine (November 30, 1978) Gary Gardine was another local dealer who made the same exact mistake that Kevin Guelli made earlier that year, trying to stiff Chris Rosenberg. Gardine was supplied with several pounds of marijuana to sell. When it came time to pay, he failed to do so.
Chris Rosenberg decided that another public mafia style execution scene was warranted since he had people trying to rip him off. Gary Gardine was shot to death, stuffed in the trunk of his car and then set on fire. The objective was to send a message. Rip off Chris Rosenberg or anyone in the DeMeo Crew and you would pay the ultimate price.
1979
Scott Carfaro (early 1979) Carfaro was a local guy who beat a rape case. It’s not clear whether the crew killed him on a contract, or just on principle. Carfaro’s bullet riddled body was left to be found as a way to send a message. The word hit the streets that Roy and Henry were the shooters and were contract killers.
They were the people you go see when you want somebody clipped. Soon after this, the nephew of Fred Todaro who had heard these rumors decided to give Roy a call. He had a job for Roy, killing his uncle and making the body disappear.
Peter Waring (February 7, 1979) Waring was a local cocaine dealer suspected of cooperating. After two drug busts, he just casually got out of jail which sent out red flags. He was lured to the apartment behind the Gemini where he was promptly shot, stabbed, dismembered and dropped off at the Fountain Avenue dump.
Frederick Todaro (February 19, 1979) Set up by his nephew who wanted to take over his film production business, Mr. Todaro was lured to the apartment behind the Gemini under the pretense of Roy having a car for sale. Once inside he was shot in the head by Roy, and then stabbed repeatedly in the heart by Chris. Chris was only wearing a pair of briefs so he didn’t have to get blood on his clothes.
Todaro was then chopped up and disposed of at the Fountain Avenue dump. Freddy DiNome set up the meeting and witnessed the entire event. Because Freddy would later become a cooperating witness, this is one of the most detailed murders that took place. This killing was just 12 days after the killing of Peter Waring
Charles Padnick, William Serrano & 2 Unnamed (March 17, 1979) Padnick, Serrano and the two others were the in betweens for a 12 kilo cocaine deal between Chris Rosenberg and Cuban drug lord named El Negro. Rosenberg got greedy and killed them all and stole the cocaine.
One of the four individuals was able to get 2 shots off and hit Chris in the head and arm, he wasn’t hurt seriously. Although it was Chris Rosenberg who set this up, Joey and Anthony were there for the shootings. This quadruple murder set off a series of murders over the next couple weeks.
James “Jamie” Padnick (March 19, 1979) Jamie Padnick was the son of Charles Padnick. He was killed when he showed up in New York asking questions about his father, who was killed by the DeMeo Crew who weren’t about to take any chances.
Dominick Ragucci (April 19, 1979) An 18 year old door to door vacuum cleaner salesman. Killed by Roy DeMeo after being mistaken for a Cuban hitman during the mess caused by Chris Rosenberg killing some Cuban coke dealers. Joseph “Dracula” Guglielmo was present with Roy during this murder.
Roy was in crisis mode and killed Ragucci out of pure paranoia after Ragucci showed up at Roy’s door trying to make a sale. DeMeo and Dracula came out shooting but the kid was able to get to his car and drive away. DeMeo soon caught up with Ragucci and killed him in broad daylight in front of many witnesses.
Chris Rosenberg (May 11, 1979) The top prodigy of Roy DeMeo, he was killed for creating the “Cuban Crisis”. He robbed and killed some Cuban cocaine dealers but used the name “Chris DeMeo” when setting it all up. The Cubans came for revenge and fearing a war, Nino Gaggi ordered Roy to kill Chris.
Roy stalled for time but after the panicked killing of Dominick Ragucci, Nino ordered him to kill Chris now. DeMeo had no choice, if he didn’t kill Chris, him and his whole crew might have been wiped out for not following the order.
They decided to do it at the weekly crew meeting. Chris was killed at the apartment by Roy and Anthony Senter. To appease the Cubans who wanted the killing to make the newspapers, Chris was left in his car which was then sprayed with machine gun fire by Henry Borelli.
Jimmy Eppolito Jr. & Jimmy Eppolito Sr. (October 1, 1979) The Eppolitos were Gambino affiliates who went to Paul Castellano and accused Nino and Roy of selling drugs, which Roy was. In a move that was about money and protection, Paul chose the side of Nino and Roy and gave the permission to kill the Eppolitos.
A meeting was set up and all parties were in the same car headed to the Gemini when Jimmy Sr. became suspicious. He demanded to get out of the car. Right then, both Nino and Roy pulled out their guns. Both Eppolitos were shot and killed in front of several witnesses.
A passerby named Patrick Penny witnessed the whole event and was soon able to flag down an off duty police officer, who was able to catch up to Nino. A shootout occurred and Nino was struck in the neck but survived. Roy got away.
Khaled Doud & Ronald Falcaro (October 12, 1979) Doud was a Jordanian immigrant who was also in the car importing business. He was basically a competitor to Roy’s international stolen car ring. When Doud learned of Roy’s operation he threatened to go to the police. That was all it took to sign his death warrant.
He was lured to Freddy DiNome’s garage under the pretense that Freddy had a couple cars for sale. Freddy and Roy used this bait several times, including the Frederick Todaro killing. Falcaro was nothing more than a business partner of Doud who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
They were shot and then dismembered, with the crew actually stopping to eat pizza and hot dogs midway through. With this double murder right after the Eppolito killings, Roy had killed 4 people in 11 days and dismembered two of them!
1980
Joseph Coppolino(3/7/1980) Joseph Coppolino suffered a gruesome death. He was stabbed to death by Roy and then decapitated. He was suspected of cooperating with authorities about DeMeo’s drug operations. Coppolino was not made to disappear, however. DeMeo, like he often loved to do, wanted to send a clear message to anyone who was thinking of cooperating in the future.
Patrick Penny (May 12, 1980) Penny was the witness who called the cops on Nino and Roy after the Eppolito hits. He also testified against Nino in court which resulted in a 5-15 year sentence. Gaggi could have had Penny killed at any time during the trial, but feared what he may face at sentencing so he waited.
He assigned the hit to Roy. Penny had been warned by detectives that his life was in danger and he should leave town. Vito Arena tracked down Penny and alerted Roy. They stalked him on 5/12/1980, Roy, Vito and Richie DiNome. Roy was so bloodthirsty that even after the crew was questioned by police he refused to abandon the plan.
Roy shot him dead in the street and the same person who called the cops on the suspicious trio earlier called them again. The next day, the front page of the New York Times read “Mob Witness Rubbed Out”.
Charles Mongitore & Daniel Scutaro (June 5, 1980) This was one of Roy’s freelance contracts. Montigore had previously been stabbed and pressed charges on the assailant, whose father contacted DeMeo. Montigore was warned multiple times not to cooperate but persisted that would not be swayed.
Not knowing the danger that faced him, he was lured to the garage of Richie DiNome where he was shot to death by Roy and Henry Borelli. Scutaro was simply just a friend of Montigore who showed up at the garage looking for his friend.
Frank Amato (9/20/1980) Paul Castellano was the one who ordered the killing of his own son in law Frank Amato. Amato was abusive toward his wife, Paul’s daughter Connie. Paul considered Amato responsible for Connie’s miscarriage and Amato was publicly cheating on her.
A furious Paul told Nino to have Roy to make Amato disappear. In fact, Amato has never been found since. He was killed by Roy and the Gemini twins, Joey and Anthony. The Gemini Method was employed on Amato and his remains were deposited at the Fountain Avenue dump.
Vito Borelli (Fall 1980) This was yet another murder that was ordered by Paul Castellano himself. Vito had once dated Paul’s daughter and he had openly insulted Big Paul to many associates, eventually word got back to Castellano and the contract went out.
This was a very important hit as everyone wanted to impress the big boss. The list of people involved in this murder reads like a who’s who of gangsters at the time: John Gotti, Frank DeCicco, Angelo Ruggiero, Joe Massino and Dominick Napolitano.
Roy’s role in this murder was to take the body and make it disappear, which he did by dismembering it and bringing it to the Fountain Avenue dump. It is unclear if Borelli was killed before or after Frank Amato.
1981
James “Joseph” Bennett(4/29/1981) Bennett was a cooperating witness who was soon to testify against a DeMeo associate. He was shot multiple times in the head by two masked men, the Gemini twins, Joey and Anthony.
Joseph Viggiano(12/4/1981) Joseph was in debt to a DeMeo business partner. Viggiano was also involved in the illegal pornography business, like many other DeMeo victims. Viggiano was shot to death by Roy and then became a victim of the Gemini method.
Al Viggiano & Paul Viggiano(12/21/1981) Al Viggiano was the father of Joseph who came looking for his son, who disappeared two weeks earlier. With him was Paul Viggiano, Joseph’s brother. Roy was alerted to the father-son duo and had one of his crew members lure the pair to a meeting. When they arrived, Roy DeMeo shot them both down.
1982
Anthony Romano & John Romano (July 4, 1982) This is thought to be the last murders that Roy ever committed, as he was under heavy surveillance and killed shortly afterwards. This was Roy settling an old score. The Romanos were suspected of setting up the robbery of one of Roy’s crew members, Peter LaFroscia several years before.
It wasn’t even that Roy was so loyal to LaFroscia, he saw killing them as a matter of principle. It was a matter of sending a message that the DeMeo Crew was still not to be messed with. Their tied up corpses were left in a Brooklyn alley.
1983
Roy DeMeo (January 10, 1983) Paul Castellano was worried that Roy would crack under pressure and cooperate with authorities, so he ordered DeMeo to be killed. The car theft ring had been busted and it connected all the way up to Big Paul. He was furious to be associated with a lowly car theft ring.
The leader of the notorious DeMeo Crew was killed by his own men on January 10, 1983. Roy was lured to the garage of Patty Testa and shot many times in the head, chest and arms. He was placed in his trunk under a chandelier and driven out to Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn where he was found 10 days later.
He was killed by Nino Gaggi, Joey Testa and Anthony Senter. It was fitting that his men killed him because no one else in the Gambinos or New York accepted the job, even John Gotti turned it down.
1984
Richard DiNome, Fred Seiden & John Baida (2/4/1984) Richie was the younger brother of Roy’s long time driver and sidekick Freddy DiNome. He was murdered because he knew too much about various murders and the stolen car ring. The information being provided by Richie’s old partner Vito Arena was soon to put him behind bars for a long time.
He was viewed as a weak link and was taken out by Joey Testa and Anthony Senter. It was after this killing that Freddy decided to cooperate with authorities. Freddy killed himself a few years later. Baida was just one of the many friends of DeMeo Crew victim friends that found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.
1986
Vladimir Reznikov (6/13/1986) The Gemini twins Testa and Senter were now aligned with the Luccheses and no longer with the Gambinos. After Roy died, they saw their meal ticket in Anthony “Gaspipe” Casso. Rumor has it that the Gambinos were ready to wash their hands of the twins and that this favor for Casso may have saved their lives.
Casso ordered Joey Testa to kill Reznikov after he threatened a friend of Casso. While it’s highly likely that they may have done work in between, this is the first killing that the twins were connected to since the DiNome triple murder more than two years before.
Nicholas Guido (12/25/1986) This was another piece of work the Gemini twins did for Anthony “Gaspipe” Casso. The twins were full on Lucchese associates by this time. Gaspipe mistakenly accused Guido of being involved in an attempt on his life. The bad info had been given to Casso by the notorious mafia cops, Louis Eppolito and Steven Caracappa.
1987
Carmine Varriale & Frank Santora (9/3/1987) The Gemini twins were the last two members of the DeMeo Crew to still be on the streets. The double murder of Varriale and Santora was the last known killing that any crew member had been involved in.
It was another job given by Gaspipe and the Lucchese bosses. Joey Testa and Anthony Senter would soon be off the streets and in prison, where they remain today. More than a decade later, the killing machine known as the DeMeo Crew was now gone for good.