It was La Crossing Nostra.
The 86-year-old man who was run over and decapitated by a truck in a Brooklyn crosswalk was a former acting leader of the Genovese crime family, The Washington Post can reveal exclusively.
Anthony Conigliaro, a mob boss who was once known by dessert-related nicknames such as “Tony Cakes” and “Tony the Dessert Man,” was killed on June 12 when he was accidentally hit by a city transportation department truck, his lawyer and law enforcement sources said.
“He kept looking back and forgot to look both ways before crossing the road,” one police source said.
Before his tragic death, Conigliaro appeared to be living a quiet life alone in his small Bay Ridge apartment on Dahlgren Place.
Neighbors told The Post that Conigliaro, a father of two, always cared about others.
“We miss him so much. We miss everybody,” he said.
But the neighbors were unaware of Conigliaro’s past, which not only included Mafia ties but also an extortion case dating back nearly two decades.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn accused Conigliaro of being a soldier for the Genovese crime family in 2005. For many years, he worked in the wholesale cake business, sold confections throughout New York City and ran an Italian ice cream and gelato stand in Little Italy, according to court documents.
In a four-count indictment, federal investigators said Conigliaro worked as a loan shark for the Genovese family.
He eventually pleaded guilty to organized crime conspiracy and received a 13-month sentence, according to court records.
According to sources, Conigliaro was arrested on loan shark charges in 1999 and on theft charges in 2006, but the cases have since been sealed.
The Post attempted to contact Conigliaro’s family but was unsuccessful.
Longtime Mafia lawyer Matthew Mari, who counted Mr. Conigliaro as both a friend and client, said the man known as “Tony Cheesecake” ran a successful dessert business after his time in prison.
“In later years he became known as Tony the Desert Man,” Mari said.
“He was a kind, gentle, very quiet person. Always trying to help people.”
On Friday, a modest memorial of four bouquets of flowers and two candles was erected in memory of this supposed former good man at the intersection of 92nd Street and Dahlgren Place, where he was fatally wounded.
Brutal footage from the scene showed Mr Conigliaro’s head severed yards from his slumped body, and a teary-eyed, devastated driver from the city’s transport department who had been driving the truck when the elderly Mr Conigliaro ran a red light to cross the road.
“Now I understand why the DOT guy was crying…” he “He’s probably seeking the witness protection program,” one source said.
— Additional reporting by Larry Cerona and David Propper
