By Alex Davidson
The co-owner of two Queens bagel stores was shot twice in the chest early Saturday morning in a mob-style incident as he sat in his car outside his Howard Beach house but managed to survive and call 911, police said.
Angelo Mugnolo, 42, of 157-36 83rd St. had just started his car when shots were fired at him from a green Ford Explorer through his driver's side window, police said. The car then fled and Mugnolo was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition, police said.
Police are investigating whether Mugnolo has had any previous dealings with organized crime that could be the cause for shooting even though they have no evidence to suggest a possible link, The New York Post reported Tuesday.
Cops said there had been no arrests made in the ongoing investigation. The shooting took place within the confines of the 106th Precinct that includes Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Lindenwood and Howard Beach.
Mugnolo is the co-owner of two bagel stores, both called Sapienza Bagels, one on Cross Bay Boulevard at Liberty Avenue and the other at 83-19 101st Ave. in Ozone Park.
A worker at the Cross Bay Boulevard store would not comment on the circumstances of Mugnolo's shooting. She did say, however, that Mugnolo had many friends in the community and was liked by the people with whom he worked.
Other neighbors and businesses around the area had nothing to say about the case.
Police said Mugnolo was unable to describe to detectives any information about his attacker. The authorities said they would not release any additional details in the case because there were still suspects at large.
The number of criminal incidents has dropped by 23 percent in the 106th Precinct this year, with an overall decline of 80 percent posted for the past 10 years, according to NYPD statistics.
There is one murder on the books for the precinct this year, unchanged from this time last year, while the number of robberies is down by 11.5 percent over the same period, the number of burglaries is down 37 percent and the number of grand theft larcenies is down 36 percent, the statistics show.
Reported rape incidents have, however, increased by 233 percent, with 10 reported cases this year. There were only three reported incidents of rape in the 106th Precinct last year, according to the statistics.
Reach reporter Alex Davidson by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
