In the early morning hours of June 28, 1978, a janitor arriving for his shift at the Blackfriars Pub on Summer Street in Boston stumbled upon a horrific scene. In the basement of the pub, five men lay dead, victims of what would become known as the Blackfriars Massacre. Among them was the 35-year-old male owner of the establishment, Vincent E. Solomonte. The discovery, made around 8:00 a.m., sent shockwaves through the city and launched a sprawling investigation into the city's criminal underworld.
Solomonte, a resident of Quincy, was a known figure in Boston's nightlife, also owning another popular bar on the waterfront called "Vincent's". At the time of his death, he was reportedly under investigation by both the FBI and the IRS for bankruptcy fraud and was known by law enforcement to be a cocaine trafficker. The scene of the crime suggested a motive beyond a simple robbery; while small amounts of drugs and $15,000 in cash were found in an open safe, investigators believed the killings were a gangland-style execution, possibly over a significant quantity of cocaine. The victims, who included Solomonte, the pub's night manager John "Jack" Kelly, Peter Meroth, Freddy Delavega, and Charles Magarian, had been playing backgammon before they were shot at close range with a shotgun and a. 25 caliber semi-automatic pistol.
The investigation quickly pointed towards organized crime, with suspicion falling upon Boston's notorious Winter Hill Gang and the Patriarca crime family. Several individuals were considered suspects, including the infamous leader of the Winter Hill Gang, James J. "Whitey" Bulger. Two other men, Robert Italiano, a member of the Patriarca family, and William N. Ierardi, a drug dealer associated with the family, were arrested on July 12, 1978, just two weeks after the murders. Both men denied any involvement in the crime.
Italiano and Ierardi stood trial for the five murders in a proceeding that lasted twenty-seven days. However, in 1979, a jury acquitted both men of all charges. In the years that followed, rumors and theories continued to circulate about who was responsible for the brutal slayings. One account suggested that another individual, Nicholas Femia, was involved, but after being taken into custody, the case against him was not pursued due to a lack of credible evidence. Despite the extensive investigation and the identification of multiple high-profile suspects, no one has ever been convicted for the Blackfriars Massacre. The case remains one of Boston's most infamous unsolved homicides, a stark reminder of the city's violent past.
