In the bustling atmosphere of a Charlestown restaurant on November 6, 1995, the life of 26-year-old Ro Paul Luisi, a male, came to a violent and abrupt end. What began as a lunchtime gathering at the 99 Restaurant and Pub quickly devolved into a scene of chaos and bloodshed that would claim the lives of four men and leave another critically wounded.
The events of that fateful day were rooted in a bitter and escalating feud.
Tensions had been simmering, and a physical altercation the night before at a North End coffee shop set the stage for the deadly confrontation. The dispute pitted members of the Luisi family and their associates against another local family, the Clementes.
On that Monday afternoon, Ro Paul Luisi was dining with his father, Robert Luisi, and several others when their rivals entered the establishment. Words were exchanged, and the simmering animosity erupted into gunfire. The sudden violence sent terrified patrons diving for cover as the assailants opened fire on Luisi's party. In the aftermath, Ro Paul Luisi, his father, and two other men lay dead. A fifth member of their group was seriously injured but survived.
The shooters fled the scene, but their escape was short-lived. Two off-duty police officers who happened to be eating in the restaurant, along with other officers nearby, pursued and apprehended two suspects. The individuals taken into custody were identified as Damian Clemente and Vincent John Perez. A third man, Anthony Clemente, the father of Damian, was also implicated and arrested the following day. The Clemente father and son, along with Perez, were subsequently charged and convicted for their roles in the brazen and deadly lunchtime massacre that cut short the life of Ro Paul Luisi.
