A man who was accidentally decapitated by a city truck while in a crosswalk in Brooklyn was a former acting captain of the Genovese crime family.
Anthony Conigliaro, 86, was known by several dessert-related nicknames, including ‘Tony Cakes’ and ‘Tony the Dessert Man.’
He died earlier this month, on June 12, when a city Department of Transportation truck accidentally hit him while making a right turn.
Horrific images captured the aftermath and saw Conigliaro’s head lying several feet from his body on a New York City street.
Anthony Conigliaro, 86, former acting captain of the Genovese crime family, was accidentally decapitated by a city truck.
Conigliaro had been crossing Dahlgren Place against a “do not walk” sign at a marked crosswalk
The 31-year-old truck driver is seen being comforted by a member of the public while he is seen kneeling in the middle of the road.
The truck driver could be seen explaining to officials what happened.
Conigliaro had been crossing Dahlgren Place against a “do not walk” sign at a marked crosswalk when the 31-year-old driver of a Ford F550 pickup truck was turning at a green light and struck him. The octogenarian was pronounced dead at the scene.
The DOT driver remained at the scene and appeared devastated following the accident.
Footage filmed by a member of the public shows the driver kneeling, possibly praying, while another passer-by comforts him.
No arrests have been made, police said.
“He spent his life looking over his shoulder, but he forgot to look both ways before crossing the street,” a police source joked. New York Post.
Before his untimely death, Conigliaro had left his life of crime behind and was living a quiet life in a small apartment building in the Bay Ridge area.
One neighbor, completely unaware of his crime-ridden past and mob connections, told The Post that he was always looking out for others.
Police are seen at the scene following the beheading of the 86-year-old man.
Surveillance footage shows the truck driver immediately pulling over to the side of the road after the crash.
The accident occurred at this intersection in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, as Conigliaro was crossing the street.
The driver of the truck that hit Conigliaro was comforted in an FDNY ambulance.
‘We miss him. ‘Everyone misses him,’ they said.
But almost 20 years ago, things were very different with Conigliaro linked to a huge extortion case involving the mafia.
At that time, fFederal prosecutors in Brooklyn accused Conigliaro of being a soldier for the Genovese crime family.
He ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy and served a 13-month sentence.
Conigliaro also served as a loan shark for the Genovese family and in 1999 was also arrested for criminal usury, a crime that led to him charging an excessive interest rate on a loan. He was also arrested in 2006, this time in a grand larceny case.
After being released from prison, he began working in the wholesale cake business.
Conigliaro sold candy throughout New York City and ran an Italian gelato and ice cream stand in Little Italy.
Aside from having a sweet tooth, it earned him the colorful nickname “Tony Cheesecake.”
A memorial was installed on the side of the road where the accident occurred.
The Genovese family is known as one of five families that are part of an Italian-American syndicate that has long dominated organized crime in New York City, the other four being the Gambino, Lucchese, Bonanno, and Colombo families.