[1], In Pitera's trial, the chief prosecutor, David W. Shapiro, demanded the death sentence for the "heinous, cruel and depraved" murders committed by Pitera. Pitera's weakness was that he enjoyed keeping jewelry and other souvenirs of his work.  Tommy Petillo is the group's fourth member who was the last lead singer to perform with the original Duprees. or. While there he ate mostly fish, rice and edible seaweed and read books about war and fighting becoming a martial artist and academic on the subject. At the age of 12, Pitera had been a huge fan of the 1966 The Green Hornet television show and actor Bruce Lee starring alongside Van Williams, triggering his lifelong interest in martial arts. A. P. CO.) with moderate commercial success. As Pitera later remarked. Also, author Philip Carlo writes that Shlomo Mendelsohn an Israeli drug dealer said the bodies were buried on Staten Island or New Jersey. Gangi also testified that during a fight with a drug dealer named Marek Kucharsky, Pitera pulled a knife and repeatedly stabbed Kucharsky and finally cut his throat. #Tommy Petillo_ A Video Love Letter To My Wife. Tommy Petillo is on Facebook. Later in 1992, Judge Raggi again refused a motion to reduce Gangi's sentence. The current edition of the Duprees are led by Tony Testa. If you enjoy the tonal qualities of doo-wop favorites mixed with a splash of comedy, Johnny Petillo should be on your list. [1] The Duprees' version was given a big band backing by Paxton and reached the US top ten in 1962. Log In. The Duprees are an American musical group of doo-wop style who had a series of hit records in the early 1960s. [1], Pitera was close to Spero, whose Bath Beach crew were involved in extortion, loan sharking, drug dealing and murder, as well as robbing drug dealers and then reselling their product. For more information or to schedule an appointment with Attorney Marina D. Petillo, Please call (561) 656-2015 or email at mpetilloesq@gmail.com The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertisements. Tom Bialoglow left in 1963. [1] After his scholarship ended, he sought work in a chopsticks factory to underwrite his stay and earn more money. It was later solidified in 1969 with the release of Marlowe (film) starring James Garner and Lee as "Lee Wong". [1], On August 29, 1988, Pitera allegedly ambushed and murdered Wilfred "Willie Boy" Johnson as he walked ahead to their car. They made fun of his voice, his clothes, his walk and was slapped, kicked and spit on for no reason, often several times a day. Joe Santollo died in 1981, Joey Vann died in 1984, and Mike Arnone died in 2005. Tap to unmute / • Info. The first 5 cabins sold mentioning this video will r... eceive a cabin upgrade. theology, esoteric, married to my best friend, lead singer of the The Duprees. The prosecution also produced a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent who testified to digging up graves containing the dismembered bodies of some of Pitera's victims. Pitera shot Siksik four times in the back, chopped the body up into six pieces, and then buried it at a secret dumping ground. https://eastcoastmusichalloffame.org/about/board-of-directors/auto-draft "My Own True Love" was a vocal adaptation of "Tara's Theme" from the soundtrack of Gone with the Wind and became the group's second hit. The Original Duprees (Joey Vann Canzano, Mike Kelly, John Salvato, Tom Bialoglow, Joe Santollo, and Mike Arnone) were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2006. HAVE YOU HEARD? [3] Tommy Bialoglow had his own group called Twilight Time and currently performs with Joe Zisa & Friends "Jersey Tribute". Info. He would later break into Boody and steal the school baseball team's equipment as an act of revenge and sold it to "fences" in the neighborhood. Pitera's associates, Lloyd Modell and Frank Martini, murdered two Colombian dealers and stole sixteen kilograms of cocaine. [3], On June 25, 1992, Pitera was convicted of murdering six people and supervising a massive drug dealing operation in Brooklyn. Shopping. During the 1980s, Pitera became a "made man" of the Bonanno family and was assigned to Lino's crew by Bonnano consigliere Anthony Spero. [1], Pitera's approach to murder and body disposal was cold-hearted and clinical. [9], "Federal Jurors Considering Death Penalty for Mobster", "Reputed Mobster Guilty In Six Narcotics Murders", "Jurors Reject Death Penalty for Mobster", "Life Prison Term in 6 Drug-Case Murders", "Appeals court denies DNA testing sought by Mafia killer Thomas "Tommy Karate" Pitera", Wilfred “Willie Boy” Johnson: Part Two - Source Wahoo – Out Sourced, Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia, List of Italian-American mobsters by organization, Collaborations between the United States government and Italian Mafia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_Pitera&oldid=1000446549, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2019, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 15 January 2021, at 04:06. Pitera joined the Bonanno crime family and quickly became one of their most feared soldiers. Pastor Michael is the lead pastor of Springs Church. We Need More Love Songs: Doo Wop the Duprees and Me Oct 6, 2017. by Tommy Petillo Paperback. He attended a karate school in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn and quickly rose to the top of his class. Pitera was suspected by law enforcement of as many as 100 murders. He grew up pursuing an artistic career in photography until God got a hold of his heart and moved him on to Mt. [1] The group became known for mixing doo-wop vocals with big band arrangements. This led him to acquire the nickname "Tommy Karate" by friends and fellow mobsters, despite that he specialized in Togakure-ryū and not karate. “The Duprees’ music can be described in one word – class,” said Karin Lisowski, who came to the concert with her husband, Ron. 6/17 Just saw your review on Amazon and then visited your site. Tommy Pitera Crime Family: Bonanno ... who had offended the mob boss by marrying his ex-wife. He called Pitera a "heartless and ruthless killer," explaining in detail how Pitera tortured one victim by slowly, deliberately shooting him seven times in various parts of the body, in one of a series of murders carried out in a deliberately barbaric manner. Thomas Pitera (/pɪˈtɛərə/; born December 2, 1954) is a former Mafia hitman in the Bonanno crime family. The songs of sex and … Pitera had decapitated the bodies and buried the heads separately to impede their identification using dental records. Dementia Circle is a project that finds, tests and shares information about domestic products for people with dementia. [7] On April 3, 2012, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals denied Pitera's motion for DNA testing of the guns and other evidence in three of Pitera's murders. George Paxton, a former big band leader was impressed by the group's style and signed them to his Coed Records label. He was later arrested and charged for the burglary but he was convicted as a juvenile and his record was sealed. Narcotics, prostitution, and bootlegging, Genovese’s Neapolitan mob ran the streets of the Prohibition Era Greenwich Village where law breaking became sheik. COME JOIN US! Pitera's inmate number is 29465-053. Johnson had been a longtime associate and driver for Gambino family boss John Gotti. [1], One of Pitera's crew members, Frank Gangi, the nephew of Genovese family capo Rosario Gangi, decided to testify against Pitera. [1] Pitera was well known for his use of karate and other martial arts when fighting, a skill he had learned at a young age and which earned him nicknames like Tommy Karate, and The Karate Guy. The Duprees - 'Why Don't You Believe Me' - 2008. [2] This went beyond Mafia culture and was classic serial killer behavior. They combined a big band sound with Doo Wop. You make the call. This bullying would later lead him to be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. I have my opinion. You adding it to your review made me very happy. He grew up having no friends and did not tell his mother and father about the bullying, instead staying in his room and crying. The classic "doo-wop" group The Duprees formed in the early 1960s in Jersey City, NJ. He always insisted on burying corpses deep enough so that police dogs could not locate their scents. Larry Cassanova replaced Salvato in the mid-70s and Tommy Petillo took over as lead singer in 1978. Frank confessed to all the murders he was involved in with Pitera, and provided information on other Pitera murders. Thomas attended the David A. Boody Junior High School at 228 Avenue South in Gravesend, where he left little impression with his teachers, daydreamed a lot and was bullied by his peers because of his high-pitched voice. Pitera's crew sold about 220 pounds of cocaine per year, multiple kilos of heroin and hundreds of pounds of marijuana. Their first single, "You Belong to Me", had been a hit for Jo Stafford in 1952. [1], On June 4, 1990, Pitera was indicted for heading a drug dealing crew and for his involvement in seven murders, including the 1988 Johnson murder. 3: A group formed in 1960 from Union City, New Jersey. Discography "You Belong to Me" (1962) "Have You Heard" (1963) "Total Recall" (1968) Chart performance Albums chart. Tommy Petillo graduated from Nutley High school in 1969, the same year as the Woodstock Music & Art Fair in Central New York. Their highest charting single, "You Belong to Me" reached No. [2] Mike Arnone kept the group going into the 1980s with Richie Rosato on lead, Al Latta on baritone, Bob Leszczak on first tenor, Bobby Wells on keyboards, and Duane O'Hara on drums. Judging by the audience’s response, those songs and those warm, nostalgic feelings still resonate with the group’s fans. Modell used one of Pitera's guns in the murder and threw it in the harbor, angering him. I was particularly thrilled that you included the book trailer I put on Utube. Jersey hasn’t stopped producing legends, however, and Johnny Petillo is a proud member of the ranks of Doo Wop and Rat Pack shows to come out of New Jersey in the years that followed. Is there a lawsuit between the estate of mike arnone and the duprees? He is expected to be released on June 23, 2020. Zion Bible School in Grantville, Pennsylvania. The group was founded in the early 1960s in Jersey City, New Jersey, by William L. Dickinson High School students Michael Arnone, Joe Santollo, John Salvato, Tom Bialoglow, and lead singer Joey Canzano (later known as Joey Vann). Shopping. Pitera studied books on dissection and carried a special tool kit for cutting up bodies. His mother and aunt Angelina Bugowski went to visit him and were impressed with the change to his physical appearance, maturity, sensibility and understanding of the Japanese culture and people. He was one of the original guitarists for the Duprees during the early years. Tony Bender Strollo, Mike Miranda & Tommy Ryan Eboli. "We have an exceptional line-up and two-day event planned and have managed to successfully bring some very deserving legendary names to the forefront and shine a light on their outstanding contributions to music. The group currently consists of Tommy Petillo (with the group since 2002), Jimmy Spinelli, Phil Granito, and Tony Testa. Thomas Pitera (/ p ɪ ˈ t ɛər ə /; born December 2, 1954) is a former Mafia hitman in the Bonanno crime family.Pitera was suspected by law enforcement of as many as 100 murders. Holy Smoke! The beloved husband of the late Caroline (Catapano) Petillo, and grandfather of the late Anthony, he is survived by his sons, David Petillo Jr. and his wife, Toni, and Thomas Petillo and his wife, Marina; a sister, Helen Cataldo; two brothers, Peter and Ernest; five grandchildren, Diana, Christina, Thomas, Michael and Luciano, and three great-grandchildren, Te'a, Madeline and Lucy. After the verdict was read, Pitera smiled and gave a thumbs up to reporters sitting in the Brooklyn courtroom; he had avoided the death penalty. Moreover, only two of the murder victims, Richard Leone and Solomon Stern, were killed on March 15, 1989, after the Federal death penalty law went into effect. Them to his Coed records label drug dealer said the bodies were buried on Staten Island near the William Davis. Mendelsohn an Israeli drug dealer said the bodies were buried on Staten Island or Jersey! Agent and no longer performs [ 2 ] this went beyond Mafia culture and was classic killer... 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