Community mourns robbery victim

“In one minute they destroyed a family.”
The somber words of a mourner at Gerardo Antoniello’s funeral on Monday, September 14 encapsulated the senseless violence that left the 29-year-old dead – and his ailing 61-year-old father saying, again and again, according to a family friend, “It should have been me.”
Police say the incident began as a push-in robbery on Wednesday night, September 9 at the family’s home on 95th Street and North Conduit Avenue in Ozone Park. Reportedly, a woman working with the two male suspects had attempted to gain entry into the home by asking for directions, but Gerardo and his mother, Gaetana, 58, refused to open the door.
When Romeo Antoniello arrived at the home, the two masked men tried to rob him of the cash he had allegedly been carrying after closing the family’s pizzeria, Romeo’s on Cross Bay Boulevard, for the night.
“They had to have followed him home,” said a police source.
After hitting the older man in the head, the perpetrators then proceeded to push their way into the residence, cops said, where Gerardo, who had just celebrated a birthday late last month, tried to defend his home and family. One round was fired, hitting Gerardo in the head. He was taken to Jamaica Hospital in critical condition, where he died early Thursday morning, September 10.
Reports claim the suspects fled empty handed, and as of press time they had not been apprehended.
Outside the family’s home, a steady stream of mourners stopped by to pay their respects – from friends to Romeo’s patrons.
“There are no words – we never expected this,” said Sal Sorrentino, who worked with the Antoniellos and who said he spoke with Romeo hours after the incident.
“He said, ‘Sal, shut the store, they shot my son.’”
Calling Gerardo a “good kid,” he said that he had been working and going to school. “He helped his father,” said Sorrentino.
Ken Stewart, who frequents Romeo’s, told The Courier that Gerardo was “a nice kid, very polite, he always seemed jovial.”
“It’s really a shame,” said neighbor Michael Lipani. “They are a real nice, hard-working family, real good people.”
At the funeral services, nearly 1,000 people filled Divine Mercy Church. A sea of blue – Gerardo’s brother is a Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association (PBA) delegate – saluted the dark wood casket as it was carried in by the pallbearers.
Romeo – still bearing the marks of the fateful attack, with bandages on the back of his head – had immeasurable grief etched on his face as his wife and other family members helped him up the church steps.
Inside, to the strains of “I will raise you up on eagle’s wings,” loved ones embraced and cried as the officiant told the Antoniellos, “There are no words we can say, nothing we can do to take away what you’re going through.
“God gives us the strength – he helps us along. We can’t explain violence in the world, all we know is that it exists.”
With words of comfort and solace, the priest continued, “Can anything take your son away from you? He is still in your hearts. He’s praying for you from his place in Heaven. He’ll always be with you – always be in your hearts. He’d be saying, ‘Mom, Dad, I’m okay, continue living your lives.’
“Our faith doesn’t take away the pain, but it gives us hope.”
Gerardo was laid to rest at St. John’s Cemetery.