“I get up in the morning and I try to be strong because I have two more sons and three grandsons,” said Gaetana Antoniello, clad in all black, mourning her youngest, Gerardo, killed trying to protect his family during a push-in robbery in their Ozone Park home on Wednesday, September 9.
“I can’t even explain how I feel,” she continued, crying. “What did they want from my son, why did they do this, what did we do wrong?”
Her husband, Romeo, 61, whose head wounds – inflicted when he was pistol-whipped ¬– have since healed, told The Courier, “It’s bad, I miss my son.”
The Antoniellos went on to recount on Monday, October 19 the tragic turn of events that left their son dead – and an irreparable hole in their hearts.
Gaetana, who counts the days since her son’s murder, told The Courier that a woman rang their doorbell many times that night and asked for an address. After Gerardo gave her the information, they saw her leave, but never really got a good look at her, she said.
She returned downstairs, as they were awaiting Romeo’s return from work from the pizzeria he owns on Cross Bay Boulevard in Ozone Park.
Suddenly, she said, “I hear a noise and I see my husband with the phone and my son on the floor, full of blood. It wasn’t even two minutes.”
Romeo, who said he had parked his car in the driveway, said that when he turned around, suddenly the masked suspects were on top of him.
“One minute I parked the car, and then [Gerardo] said, ‘Daddy, daddy.’ It was the last time he called me daddy.”
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.
“Two seconds and my son was dead,” said Romeo. “He never had a chance. I would have paid whatever to save my son.
“When they killed my son they said, ‘You get this.’”
Eyes welling with tears, Romeo said, “This is for life, this will never go away, 24 hours a day.”
He said he questions why he lived and his son didn’t.
“He was happy with his job [at P.S. 127 in East Elmhurst], his house [Gerardo closed on a condo in Fresh Meadows the day before he was killed] and his life,” said the grieving father. “Why didn’t they kill me? Why did they shoot my son? I should be dead.”
Romeo said he visits his son’s grave a St. John’s Cemetery every Sunday, and sometimes during the week as well.
“Until I die I’m going to go to the cemetery. Every day it gets worse. I miss my son.”
The family has said they have received much support from the surrounding community.
“A lot of people try to help us and we appreciate it,” said Gaetana.
Angelo has said that numerous people are also contributing to a reward for catching the suspects.
Carmine, the oldest and a member of the NYPD, told The Courier that his partner has spearheaded fundraising efforts in Gerardos’s memory.
“I want to get them off the streets before they do it to someone else,” said Carmine, who told The Courier that he hopes to have a $20,000 reward.
However, the only thing they really want now, they said, is to see the suspects – described by police as two male blacks; the first is described as tall with a thin build; the second is described as short with a stocky build – apprehended.
“We’re hoping somebody turns them in,” said brother Angelo, into whose home his parents have moved since putting their house – and their son’s condo – up for sale.
“These two are animals, they’re savages,” said Romeo.
Deputy Inspector Joseph G. Courtesis, Commanding Officer (CO) of the 106th Precinct, has said, “The mayor himself gave me an open checkbook as to what we need for this investigation.”
Calling it the biggest case of the command since he’s been CO, Courtesis said they have a lot of manpower – not only from the precinct, but from the borough as well – dedicated to the case.
“I’d like to see these guys, what kind of families they have,” said Romeo. “If they don’t catch these animals they’ll do it again.”
“I just want to ask them why,” said Gaetana.
The “Justice for Jerry” vigil will be held on Saturday, October 24 at 8 p.m. in front of Romeo’s Pizzeria, 134-24 Cross Bay Boulevard in Ozone Park. All are welcome to attend.
“We just want to make sure Jerry’s memory doesn’t die,” said Angelo
If you have any information about the case, or as to the identity or whereabouts of the suspects, call the 106th Precinct Detective Squad at 718-845-2260.
If you would like to contribute to the reward money offered, send checks to The Queens Courier, 38-15 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, NY 11361.
