On the Fourth of July in 1982, the lives of 36-year-old John Romano and his father, 64-year-old Anthony Romano, came to a violent and tragic end in Brooklyn, New York. Their deaths were not a random act of violence but a calculated execution orchestrated by the notorious Gambino crime family.
The father and son were victims of Roy DeMeo, a ruthless and feared soldier in the Gambino family who led his own crew. The motive for the murders was rooted in the unforgiving code of the mafia.
Years prior, a member of DeMeo's crew, Peter LaFroscia, had been the victim of a robbery. The Romanos were suspected of having set up this robbery, and in the world of organized crime, such actions demanded retribution. DeMeo, known for his brutality, saw the killings as a matter of principle and a way to send a clear message that his crew was not to be trifled with.
On that summer day, John and Anthony Romano were abducted, their bodies later discovered tied up and left in a Brooklyn alley. This grim scene was a hallmark of the DeMeo crew's work, which was known for its efficiency and savagery. The murders of the Romanos are believed to be among the last committed by Roy DeMeo himself. By this time, he was under intense surveillance by law enforcement, and the mounting pressure from federal investigations was closing in on him and his crew. Shortly after the Romano killings, DeMeo went into hiding and was eventually murdered by his own associates in January 1983, under orders from the Gambino family leadership who feared he would become a government witness.
To date, while the murders of John and Anthony Romano are attributed to Roy DeMeo and his crew, official arrests and convictions specifically for their deaths remain elusive, a common fate for many victims of organized crime during that era. The case is a grim reminder of the reach and ruthlessness of the mafia in New York City during the 1980s.
