Mobster Guilty Of Woodhaven Bar Murders
More than 30 years after participating in the murders of two Woodhaven bar owners, a boss in the Gambino crime family who led a crew based in Glendale was convicted last Wednesday, Apr. 17, by a federal jury of the double homicide and a host of other crimes, it was announced.
Bartolomeo Vernace, 64, was found guilty following a five-week trial at the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn on charges related to his involvement in a racketeering conspiracy, including heroin trafficking, robbery, loansharking and illegal gambling.
The conspiracy included the murders of Richard Godkin and John D’Agnese-owners of the defunct Shamrock Bar in Woodhaven-who were gunned down by Vernace and two of his associates on Apr. 11, 1981 stemming from a dispute over a spilled drink.
Years after the murder, law enforcement sources said, Vernace managed to avoid prosecution and went on to become a boss in the Gambino family. Federal prosecutors stated he ran a crew based at a café on Cooper Avenue near 70th Street in Glendale which carried out a host of crimes for the criminal organization’s profit.
Vernace-who goes by the aliases “Bobby Glasses,” “Pepe” and “John Canova”-was arrested on Jan. 20, 2011 as part of a national sweep of organized crime members. He faces a maximum term of life imprisonment, according to the federal government.
“Today’s racketeering conspiracy conviction of a powerful Gambino leader demonstrates, yet again, this office’s unwavering commitment to holding individuals who choose a life of organized crime accountable, regardless of the age of their victims,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta E. Lynch said in a statement last Wednesday. “[Vernace] spent the last 40 years pursuing a career of crime, including the vicious double murder, as well as traditional mafia rackets. With this verdict, Vernace has finally been brought to justice and will be held to account for the destruction and pain he has inflicted on his victims and their families.”
“The 32 years since Vernace took part in the ruthless double murder of two good men represent half his lifetime. They have not been years spent atoning for those murders,” added FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos. “It has been time spent living the life of a mob soldier, capo and overseer-half a lifetime committing and directing crimes for the Gambino crime family. We expect that Vernace’s remaining years will be spent behind bars, where he belongs.”
According to prosecutors, Vernace joined the Gambino family in the early 1970s, participating in the various illicit operations of one of the city’s five major crime families. Over the years, he would rise through the ranks and eventually became a part of the three-person panel that ran the organization.
Vernace and two unnamed Gambino associates shot Godkin and D’Agnese on the night of Apr. 11, 1981 at the Shamrock Bar, formerly located on Jamaica Avenue between 86th and 87th streets.
Reportedly, the bloodshed resulted from a dispute between one of the associates and others inside the bar over a spilled beverage. The associate left the bar and headed to an area social club, where he picked up Vernace and the second unnamed accomplice.
The three arrived at the Shamrock Bar a short time later and confronted Godkin and D’Agnese. According to trial testimony, just before the shooting, Vernace was spotted by an eyewitness pointing a gun at Godkin’s head and taunting him. One of Vernace’s unnamed cohorts also threatened D’Agnese with a gun.
Seconds later and in front of a number of patrons, law enforcement sources said, Godkin was shot in chest at point-blank range, while D’Agnese was shot in the face. Vernace and the two accomplices then fled from the scene.
Following the double homicide, federal agents stated, Vernace went into hiding while an associate-later identified as Ronald (a.k.a. Ronnie One-Arm) Trucchio-sought to question and intimidate witnesses to the murders.
While in hiding, it was noted, Vernace-under the alias “Pepe”- was indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York for heroin trafficking.
Years after the Shamrock Bar murders, authorities said, Vernace resurfaced in Queens and became the leader of a crew based at the previously mentioned café in Glendale. In that capacity, federal law enforcement sources noted, he carried out and supervised an array of criminal activities such as robbery, loansharking and gambling.
Vernace was finally charged in 1998 by the Queens District Attorney’s office with the Shamrock Bar murders, but was ultimately acquitted at trial four years later.
During the federal trial, however, a witness admitted that he provided false testimony in the Queens case, claiming that he recognized Vernace and the two co-defendants, but was afraid to testify against him out of fear of retribution.
Lynch thanked the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service for their assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Evan M. Norris, Amir H. Toossi and M. Kristin Mace prosecuted the case.
