On the morning of Christmas Eve in 1992, 31-year-old Rosemarie Uva and her husband, Thomas, were on their way to do some last-minute holiday shopping in Queens, New York. As they sat in their maroon Mercury Topaz at a traffic light at the intersection of 103rd Avenue and 91st Street in Ozone Park, their lives came to a violent and abrupt end. Gunmen ambushed the couple, firing multiple shots into the car. Rosemarie and Thomas were both struck in the head three times and died instantly.
Their car, no longer under control, drifted through the intersection and collided with another vehicle before coming to a stop against a wall.
The brazen execution-style murders were a direct response to the couple's audacious crime spree targeting Mafia social clubs. In the months leading up to their deaths, Thomas and Rosemarie had been robbing clubs associated with the Gambino, Bonanno, and Colombo crime families across New York City. Thomas, armed with an Uzi, would enter the establishments, force the mobsters to drop their pants, and steal their cash and jewelry while Rosemarie waited in the getaway car. These robberies were not only for financial gain but also served to humiliate the powerful organized crime figures. This ultimately led to an 'open contract' being placed on their lives by the incensed crime families.
For years, the case went cold, with no witnesses coming forward despite the public nature of the shooting. However, federal investigators, with the help of Mafia informants, were eventually able to piece together the events that led to the Uvas' deaths. The investigation revealed that the murders were ordered by leaders of the Gambino crime family, including captain Dominick 'Skinny Dom' Pizzonia and soldier Ronald 'One Arm' Trucchio. It was also reported that John A. 'Junior' Gotti was recorded boasting that his family had 'taken care of' the couple.
In September 2005, Dominick Pizzonia was arrested in connection with the murders. During his trial in 2007, a federal jury in Brooklyn convicted him of racketeering conspiracy, which included his participation in the plot to kill the Uvas. While the jury did not find that he personally carried out the murders, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in the crime and was released in November 2019. There was also speculation that Bonanno family soldiers Anthony Donato and Vincent Basciano may have been the shooters. Although investigators suspected John Gotti Jr. and his crew were involved, he was never formally charged.
