In a story of a long-held grudge culminating in violence, 34-year-old Vincent Governara, a male resident of Brooklyn, New York, was fatally shot on June 12, 1976. The roots of this violent encounter stretched back over a decade to a street fight where Governara had broken the nose of Gambino crime family soldier Anthony 'Nino' Gaggi. This altercation, reportedly sparked by comments Governara made towards Gaggi's sister-in-law, planted a seed of vengeance in Gaggi that would fester for years.
The simmering animosity wasn't a secret, with Gaggi's desire for revenge being so intense that he had previously attempted to bomb Governara's car. Governara, seemingly underestimating the depth of Gaggi's resentment, eventually returned to the neighborhood after a period of absence. On that fateful day in June, his past caught up with him in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn. He was ambushed and shot multiple times by Gaggi and his associate, Roy DeMeo, a notorious member of the Gambino family. Also present at the scene was Gaggi's nephew, Dominick Montiglio, whose participation in the act served as his initiation into the violent world of the mob. Governara clung to life for a week in a hospital before succumbing to his wounds.
The resolution for Vincent Governara's murder did not come in the form of a direct trial and conviction for his killers. Instead, their fates were sealed by the violent and precarious nature of the world they inhabited. Roy DeMeo, who headed a crew responsible for numerous murders, was himself murdered in January 1983. Anthony 'Nino' Gaggi was later indicted on a multitude of charges, including racketeering and multiple murders. However, he would not be convicted for Governara's death, as he died of a heart attack in 1988 during his trial.
The full story of Governara's murder, and many other crimes, came to light largely through the testimony of Dominick Montiglio. Facing his own legal troubles, Montiglio became a government witness. His insider account was instrumental in dismantling the DeMeo crew and led to the convictions of many of its members on various charges, though specific justice for the murder of Vincent Governara was never formally administered in a courtroom.
