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| Roy DeMeo |
Roy DeMeo was a made-man in the Gambino Crime Family. DeMeo believed that if there was no body,
then there was no crime. DeMeo and his
crew perfected the Gemini Method. Anyone
that doubled crossed him would be lured to the Gemini Lounge. Once inside the person would be led to the
back of the bar where there was an apartment.
DeMeo would jump out and shoot the person in the head with a silenced
pistol, and immediately wrap the head with a towel. Another crew member would stab the person’s
heart to get the body to stop pumping blood out of the wound. The body would be hung in the bathtub until
all the blood drained from it. The body
would be placed on plastic sheets, dismembered and sent out to the Fountain
Avenue Dump in Brooklyn. Roy DeMeo would
go on to run his own crew in the Gambino Crime Family. He answered to Gambino family soldier and Capo
under boss Paul Castellano, Anthony “nino” Gaggi. Roy became a made-member of the Gambino
family because he earned a lot of money for the mafia, and he would not
hesitate to kill anyone. DeMeo ran a
stolen car ring and shipped cars overseas to Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, this would be his downfall and
become the reason that his body was discovered the trunk of his car on January
20, 1983.
Early Life
Roy DeMeo was born on September 7, 1942 in Brooklyn New
York. Roy DeMeo came from a poor family
out of Bath Beach, Brooklyn in New York.
As a young child he was often bullied by the other kids except when his
older brother was around. A few years
later his brother was killed in WWII, DeMeo then changed he became cold and
calculated.
Loansharking the beginning
DeMeo takes a job at a grocery store making deliveries for
customers. DeMeo was making double the
trips of what the other kids where making.
DeMeo was making 100 dollars a week and soon started loaning money out
to the other kids. If they did not pay
DeMeo would beat them. DeMeo started
making more money from loansharking and soon quit his job making deliveries.
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| The Gemini Lounge |
Phils Lounge aka the Gemini Lounge
Phils lounge was in Brooklyn, New York. In the 1960s the bar was frequented by
many. Off duty police officers, college
students, and small-time criminals. It
was a Phils lounge where DeMeo met Freddy DiNome a car mechanic. This is also the lounge where he met Gambino
Crime Family soldier Nino Gaggi in 1966.
The lounge’s owner Phil Grande was a degenerate gambler, he owed DeMeo
money and soon after DeMeo became a silent partner and renamed the bar The
Gemini Lounge.
Gaggi and Loansharking
Nino Gaggi convinced DeMeo that if he worked for the Gambino
family he could make more money, the ruse worked. DeMeo entered into a loansharking partnership
with Gambino Family soldier Nino Gaggi.
They started making these juice loans as partners. They made a loan out to a used car dealership.
Gaggi soon found out that DeMeo was dealing in pornography. Gaggi did not approve but once DeMeos
payments to Gaggi got larger he did not seem to mind. DeMeo had become a silent partner in a
pornography business, soon after Gaggi also became a partner.
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| DeMeo's Crew |
DeMeo Crew
While in a partnership with the Gambino family, DeMeo
started to gather a crew together that would dabble in drugs and a car theft
ring. In 1966 he meets Chris Rosenberg
who was dealing drugs a t a gas station.
DeMeo loaned him money so Rosenberg could deal larger quantities of
drugs and make more money. A few years
later crew members Anthony Senter, Joseph Testa, and Patrick Testa would join
DeMeo’s crew.
In 1972, DeMeo joined the Boro of Brooklyn Credit Union
board. DeMeo would steal money from the
credit union to make his loansharking business larger. His customers originally included just car dealerships,
and it soon spread to doctors, lawyers, abortion clinics, restaurants, and flea
markets. That same year his silent
partner in the pornography business, Paul Rothenberg was murdered. Rothenberg’ slab was raided by the police,
and Gaggi believe that he would crack under immense pressure. Rothenberg then informed the police that he
was being extorted by silent partners DeMeo and Gaggi. DeMeo lured Rothenberg to a diner in July of
1972. Once Rothenberg arrived DeMeo used
a pistol and killed Rothenberg. DeMeo was
considered a suspect but was never charged.
This hit was the one that Nino Gaggi used to induct DeMeo into the family
a few years later. DeMeo also could
have been proposed for membership into the family by Gaggi because he brought
in a lot of money.
DeMeo and his crew would kill a person, and if they wanted
to make the body disappear they used the gemini method. However, if they felt disrespected they would
commit the murder and leave the body in the open to put the fear into others
that would think about doing the same thing. During the mid-70s DeMeo and his crew
continued to thrive, by making more and more money.
Gambino Family Shakeup
In 1976 the Gambino family was thrown into chaos when long
time boss Carlo Gambino died. Gambino
named Paul Castellano the boss and Aniello Dellacroce underboss. This new leadership split the soldiers and
the bosses up. The Gambino family now
had Dellacroce supporters, along with Castellano supporters. Gaggi
was soon promoted to caporegime and he was given Castellano’s old crew. DeMeo was happy because he felt closer to the
Gambino family leadership. Castellano
did not open the books for new members, instead he moved soldiers and crews
around. Castellano did not approve of
low level crimes to make money, instead he preferred legitimate businesses to
make money. It is this reason that Paul
Castellano did not approve Roy DeMeo for membership into the family.
DeMeo and the Westies, and the “Button”
DeMeo orchestrated a deal between the Westies and theGambino family. The Westies would stop
delaying a construction project that the Gambino family had a stake in. In return the westies became a part of the
Gambino family in sharing 10 percent of profits. This deal that DeMeo set up finally convinced
Castellano to allow DeMeo membership into the family. In 1977 DeMeo was inducted into the family
and he became the liaison between the Westies and the Gambino family. Capo Gaggi also gave orders to DeMeo to seek
permission for hits and drug deals, he could no longer conduct that business
without approval. DeMeo’s crew disobeyed
orders and continued to deal drugs.
Rosenberg and the Cubans
Chris Rosenberg set up a drug deal with the Cubans, once
they arrived for a meeting, Rosenberg killed both and stole the drugs. The Cubans were infuriated and sent up a
squad to New York City to hunt Rosenberg down.
Gaggi was infuriated with DeMeo and order him to kill Rosenberg. May 11, 1979, Chris Rosenberg is summoned to
the Gemini lounge for a meeting. DeMeo
did not want to do the hit, he reaches for a gun inside a paper bag and shoots
Rosenberg in the head one time. DeMeo
froze when Rosenberg got on one knee.
Anthony Senter pumped four rounds into Rosenberg’s head to finish him
off. The Cubans wanted the hit to make
the papers. Instead of using the Gemini method
to get rid of Rosenberg’s body, his body was placed in a parked car so that it
could be found.
Eppolito Murders
In 1979 Gaggi’s crew had two made members father and son
James Eppolito and James Eppolito Jr.
The Eppolito’s were the uncle and cousin of corrupt NYPD detective Lou
Eppolito. The Eppolito’s had a beef with
DeMeo and Gaggi when James Eppolito accused them of drug dealing. The accusation carried the punishment of
death. A sit down was ordered between
Gaggi and Eppolito with Castellano presiding.
Castellano sided with Gaggi and authorized him to do as he pleases with
the Eppolito’s. October 1, 1979, the
Eppolito’s are driving to the Gemini lounge in the back seat are DeMeo and
Gaggi. They shot the Eppolito’s while
the car was moving. Gaggi was arrested
and given a sentence of 5 to 15 years, DeMeo managed to get away from the crime
scene. After Gaggi was sentenced DeMeo
killed the witness that testified against Gaggi.
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| Castellano authorizes the hit on DeMeo |
Gambino Family puts out a Contract
In 1982 the feds suspected that DeMeo was linked to many
missing people and murders committed.
The feds started to follow DeMeo’s every move. This made Gambino Crime Family boss Paul
Castellano very nervous. DeMeo was under
suspicion for being linked to many people that were missing, and his auto theft
ring that he was on charge of.
Castellano did not believe that DeMeo could stand up to the pressure
from the feds. As a result, a contract
was placed on DeMeo. Many of the Gambino
family crews refused the contract because they feared Roy DeMeo. An FBI bug picked up a conversation between
Angelo Ruggiero and Gene Gotti and they were talking about the contract that
Castellano put out on DeMeo. The
contract was given to one of his crew members.
On January 10, 1983, DeMeo was lured to the house of one of his crew,
Patty Testa who lived in the East flatlands neighborhood in Brooklyn. The meeting consisted of Capo Nino Gaggi,
Patty Testa, Anthony Senter, and Joseph Testa.
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| Roy DeMeo body inside a trunk |
Aftermath
The remainder of DeMeo’s crew was picked up by the feds,
charged and convicted. Henry Borelli,
Joseph Testa, and Anthony Senter were sentenced to life in prison. Castellano was indicted for ordering the
murder of DeMeo, but in December of 1985 his tenure atop the Gambino family
came to an end when he was assassinated in front of Sparks Steak House in
Manhattan. Throughout his criminal life
DeMeo would go on to bankrupt a bank, distribute illegal copies of pornography,
put out juice loans, deal narcotics, and run an auto theft ring. Roy DeMeo was a criminal with a very bad
temper and at the same time he could act normal and loving around his family,
he made a lot of money so it could be stated that he was successful
businessman. However, the way Roy DeMeo
took over a business was a different, he would often take the business of one
of his degenerate gambling customers.
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| DeMeo's Final resting spot |
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