In the borough of Queens, New York, on September 25, 1959, the life of 31-year-old Janice Hansen Drake, a female former beauty queen, came to a violent and tragic end. She was discovered in the front seat of a Cadillac, the victim of a fatal gunshot wound. Alongside her was the body of Anthony 'Little Augie Pisano' Carfano, a known mobster. Drake, who had once been crowned Miss New Jersey and was married to comedian Allan Drake, was not believed to be the primary target of the attack.
On
that fateful night, Janice Hansen Drake found herself in the company of Carfano. Their evening concluded in a car parked in the East Elmhurst section of Queens, where they were ambushed. Investigators believe the hit was ordered on Carfano, and Drake was tragically killed to eliminate any witnesses to the crime. The motive for Carfano's murder is thought to be a power struggle within the Genovese crime family, with orders for the execution coming from the top.
The investigation into the double homicide pointed to a carefully orchestrated mob hit. Law enforcement officials questioned several individuals, including known figures in the criminal underworld. Two men, Anthony Mirra and Anthony 'Tony Bender' Strollo, were questioned after it was confirmed they had met with Carfano earlier on the night of the murders, but they were ultimately released. The trail also led to a pair of gunmen from Texas, Nick Cassio and Johnny Luke, who were reportedly in town at the time of the killings, but this lead also did not result in any arrests.
Despite the high-profile nature of the case and the clear connections to organized crime, the murders of Janice Hansen Drake and Anthony Carfano officially remain unsolved. The wall of silence often associated with mob-related crimes proved impenetrable for law enforcement. No suspects were ever formally charged, and no one has ever been brought to justice for the brutal slayings. The violent end of a former beauty queen, caught in the crossfire of a mob war, remains a stark and unresolved chapter in the history of New York City's criminal underworld.
