A man whose grandfather was reportedly a former Gambino family associate has been charged with attempted murder after he shot a childhood friend multiple times near the Malba shoreline, officials said.
Robert Sasso, 33, and his friend, 39-year-old Dean Oku, were smoking marijuana on a jetty off of Summit Place in the affluent neighborhood at about 2 a.m. on Aug. 29 when, during a conversation, Sasso shot Oku without warning, the Queens District Attorney’s Office said. Oku was struck in the abdomen, left leg and left arm, and taken to a local hospital, where he remains in critical condition.
In addition to being charged with attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon in the shooting, Sasso, a Flushing resident, was also busted for assaulting his live-in girlfriend, according to prosecutors.
Just two days before the shooting, Sasso is accused of punching his 33-year-old girlfriend, who had recently taken an order of protection out against him. He then allegedly pushed her out of his vehicle as it sat on an East Elmhurst street, causing bruising to her face, the district attorney’s office said.
Sasso has been separately charged with assault, harassment and criminal contempt in his girlfriend’s assault. He is currently awaiting arraignment in both cases and faces a total of up to 29 years in prison if convicted.
According to the New York Daily News, Sasso’s grandfather was a former Gambino family associate who was convicted in 1992 for helping John Gotti get payoffs from contractors. His father was also convicted for gun trafficking.
Sasso was suspected in the shooting of a construction supervisor in Hell’s Kitchen last year, the Daily News also said.
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