Roy DeMeo

Roy DeMeo got married shortly after completing high school. He had three children.

Roy Albert DeMeo was born into a working-class Italian immigrant family on September 7, 1942 in Bath Beach, Brooklyn. He completed his schooling from James Madison High School in 1959.

He started a small loansharking business at an early age. He also became involved in criminal activities while running a legitimate business side by side.

As a young man, Roy DeMeo became acquainted with criminal Anthony Gaggi who had associations with the Gambino crime family. DeMeo also had his own crew for drug trafficking and car thefts. His own gang was called the Gemini Crew.

It was Gaggi who introduced Roy DeMeo to the Gambino family, after telling him that he would earn a lot more if he worked directly for them. Over the next few years, he continued his loansharking business and also led his own crew of young men. His gang included men like Chris Rosenberg, Richard "Iceman" Kuklinski, Joseph Guglielmo, Henry Borelli, Anthony Senter, and Joey Testa.

DeMeo also joined the Boro of Brooklyn Credit Union, where he found a position on the board of directors. He used his position to launder the money earned through his criminal activities.

His first murder was allegedly committed in 1973 when he was 30. He and Gaggi were silent partners in a porno film lab, which was raided by the police. Fearing that the proprietor would confess to the police, DeMeo called him for a meeting and shot him in a nearby alley.

He went on to kill more people in the ensuing years and his killing spree continued through the 1970s. He taught his followers the process of murdering and dismembering their victims to ensure that the victims were dispatched fast and were never found.

In the early 1980s, the FBI officials began a massive investigation into the Gambino family. The officers were also tipped off by the information that several of the missing victims were seen entering the Gemini club before their disappearances.

The FBI also came to know that a hit was ordered on DeMeo by Paul Castellano. However, he was finding it extremely difficult to find anyone willing to kill DeMeo. Nonetheless, DeMeo was getting paranoid about the possible threat to his life and even considered faking his own death and escaping the country.

DeMeo’s body was found on 20th January 1983 inside the trunk of his abandoned car. He had been shot multiple times. The police initially suspected Gambino associate Anthony Gaggi of killing him. However, in the following weeks and months, many other suspects emerged as well. Ultimately, Paul Castellano was indicted for ordering his murder.