By Howard Koplowitz
A Brooklyn man and another from the Bronx have been charged in the September killing of an Ozone Park pizzeria owner’s son during a push-in robbery in Ozone Park, according to a criminal complaint filed with the Queens district attorney’s office.
Jason Burrell, 37, of 1586 Remsen Ave. in Brooklyn, and Rashod Cowan, 30, of 236 E. 197th St. in the Bronx, were charged with murder, burglary, attempted robbery and criminal possession of a weapon and assault in connection with the killing of Gerardo “Jerry” Antoniello, whose father, Romeo Antoniello, is the owner of Romeo’s Pizzeria on Cross Bay Boulevard in Ozone Park.
Gerardo Antoniello was trying to defend his father from an attack when he was shot and killed.
Members of Antoniello’s family could not be reached for comment on the arrests. An employee at Romeo’s Pizzeria said Sunday that nobody was available for comment.
Between Sept. 5 and Sept. 9, the day of Antoniello’s murder, Cowan and Burrell agreed to execute a plan to burglarize Romeo Antoniello’s home in Ozone Park, the complaint said. It said other men were in on the plan, but they were yet to be apprehended.
At around 10 p.m. Sept. 9, the two defendants and other unapprehended suspects parked a car near Romeo Antoniello’s home and the unidentified suspects armed themselves with an imitation gun and a loaded semi-automatic pistol as Romeo Antoniello was returning to his house, the complaint said.
The unidentified suspects pushed their way into the home and while inside, struck Romeo Antoniello in the head with what appeared to be a pistol, causing him to fall to the floor, according to the complaint.
Gerardo Antoniello came to his father’s aid, but was shot and killed by a person who has yet to be caught by police, the complaint said.
Burrell was identified in the complaint as driving Cowan and the others to the scene of the crime. Cowan’s role in the killing remained unclear.
A vigil was held in Gerardo’s honor outside Romeo’s Pizzeria in October at which anyone with information on Gerardo’s killing was urged to come forward.
“These cowards robbed my parents of a loving son, and they robbed me and my brother Angelo of a loving brother,” said Gerardo’s brother, Carmine Antoniello, during the vigil. “They were beating our elderly, cancer-stricken father. On that tragic evening, my brother acted heroically …. We won’t rest until we bring the cowards who did this to justice.”
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 173.
