On the afternoon of June 10, 1981 a meeting between Roy DeMeo, members of his crew and a group of Colombo and Lucchese Associates was held at the Arch Diner located at 1866 Ralph Ave in Flatlands, Brooklyn.
Those present were:
- Roy DeMeo (Gambino Acting Capodecina)
- Henry Borelli (Gambino Associate)
- Frederick DiNome (Gambino Associate)
- Richard DiNome (Gambino Associate)
- Carlo Profeta (Gambino Associate)
- Anthony Senter (Gambino Associate)
- Joseph Testa (Gambino Associate)
- Ronald 'Bulldog' Turekian (Gambino Associate)
- Frank 'Frankie the Beast' Falanga (Colombo Associate)
- Anthony Liberatore (Colombo Associate)
- Joseph Cassese (Lucchese Associate)
- Frank Lastorino (Lucchese Associate)
The meeting was called to discuss a recent Federal indictment of DeMeo crew members Borelli and Frederick DiNome on charges related to an international auto theft ring.
Also of concern was a similar investigation targeting Joseph Testa's younger brother Patrick.
Frederick DiNome later became a cooperating witness and provided a brief account of what occurred: "I went into the diner [and] seen Frankie Lastorino, Anthony Senter and Joe Cassese [sitting] down in a booth...Mr. DeMeo followed me [and] went in the booth with the fellows that were sitting in there, and asked us to sit in a booth across [on] the other side [which] was myself, my brother Richard, Carlos Profeta, and I think Ronnie Turekian...[With DeMeo was] Frankie Lastorino, Joseph Testa, Anthony Senter and [Joseph] Cassese."
The group was subsequently joined outside the diner by Frank Falanga and DiNome's brother-in-law Anthony Liberatore. DiNome: "My brother-in-law was trying to help me because he knew that somebody had squealed on me with the cars [and DeMeo previously] said that there is somebody in the crew giving out information...[Falanga and Liberatore] were saying that there was somebody, a person in our crew that was giving the information, was a fellow by the name of Hymie."
Hymie referred to Herman Weisberger, a long-time DeMeo associate and frequent participant in various car thefts with Patrick Testa and others. Hymie worked at the Patty Testa Motor Car Service located on East 89th St in Canarsie.
Unbeknownst to the group an NYPD surveillance team was set up and taking photographs, a few of which turned up years later in a documentary segment on the DeMeo crew:
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| L to R: DeMeo, Falanga, DiNome, Liberatore |
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| L to R: DiNome, Turekian, Profeta, Liberatore |
The accusation towards Weisberger originated from Falanga. DiNome: "Mr. DeMeo said to Frank, 'Well, you got to prove it to me'. [Afterwards] I told my brother-in-law he should have mind his own business [and he said] he was trying to help me."
No action was taken against Weisberger, who went on to be named in the 1984 Federal racketeering indictment that also charged Gambino Boss Paul Castellano and several other former DeMeo crew members. He died in 1999.
Although DiNome provided information in open court on the Arch Diner meeting, he presumably wasn't allowed to address an incident that had occurred earlier that same day.
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| Fischetti (1980) |
Around 3:00 AM twenty-nine-year-old Ronald Fischetti, another Patty Testa Motor Car Service employee, was discovered by his fiancée fatally wounded in the kitchen of their Howard Beach apartment. He had been shot multiple times in the back and head. Two men were spotted driving from the scene in a Mercedes-Benz. It was believed Fischetti knew his assailants and had been speaking with them inside his residence just prior to the shooting.
Although no further information is publically available from DiNome or other cooperators, given the timing it's probable that Fischetti's murder resulted from the same suspicion that nearly cost Weisberger his life as well.
The FBI included Fischetti in their list of DeMeo crew victims from early on in their investigation.
