NYC pizzeria stabbing possibly linked to Gambino shakedown
A reputed mob associate stabbed a prominent Brooklyn pizzeria owner Friday after a wild argument in a grocery store spilled out onto the street, sources said.
Mark Iacono, 43, owner of the famed pizzeria Lucali, began to argue with longtime pal Benny Geritano, 38, inside Joe's Superette on Smith St. in Carroll Gardens, at about 2:30 p.m., sources said.
The dispute continued on the sidewalk when Geritano - an ex-con who beat a murder rap for a 1991 Bensonhurst slay - whipped out a blade and started slashing Iacono.
"He was violently stabbing the other guy," said a witness who declined to give her name. "There was blood everywhere. The guy getting stabbed was screaming."
Another witness said Iacono was trying to settle the hot-tempered Geritano, who sources said was off his medication, moments before the attack.
"Mark was trying to get the guy to calm down," he said. "They made their way up the block and the guy started stabbing Mark."
Iacono - a married father of one - was taken to Lutheran Medical Center with multiple stab wounds to his throat, back and legs, authorities said. He was listed in stable condition and is expected to survive.
"He's alive," said a relative, who did not want to give his name. "He lost a lot of blood, but he's going to be all right."
Geritano, a reputed Gambino family associate, dropped the kitchen knife at the scene and sped off in a van. He was arrested soon after he checked into Long Island College Hospital in Cobble Hill with cuts to his hands, sources said. Charges are pending.
"Why'd I do what?" Geritano barked at a reporter from his hospital bed, his hands wrapped in bloody bandages. "I have nothing to say. Have a nice day."
Geritano, who has a reputation for violence, was in stable condition last night.
"Benny is a mad dog," a law-enforcement source told the Daily News. "There is something mentally wrong with him."
Geritano - whose other prior arrests include weapons possession, harassment and menacing - comes from a mob-connected family.
His stepfather, Anthony (Shorty) Mascuzzio, was a member of John (Teflon Don) Gotti's inner circle. He was shot dead while shaking down a Manhattan disco in 1987.
Geritano's uncle, Preston Geritano, was stabbed to death in April 2004 in front of Amici, a Bay Ridge restaurant, sources said. The 57-year-old was killed by his brother-in-law, Andrew Gargiulo, then 65, over a long-standing beef, a source said.
In 1991, Preston Geritano - a Genovese crime family associate - was investigated as a suspect in the murder of Gotti's driver, Bobby Borriello, the source said.
Iacono's eatery, located on Henry St., just blocks from the stabbing, offers pizza that Zagat's has hailed as the best in New York City. GQ magazine rated it the second-best in the country in 2009.
A relative said the family was shocked that Ianoco's childhood friend attacked him.
"We all know Benny," he said. "But we don't know why he did this."
Mark Iacono, 43, owner of the famed pizzeria Lucali, began to argue with longtime pal Benny Geritano, 38, inside Joe's Superette on Smith St. in Carroll Gardens, at about 2:30 p.m., sources said.
The dispute continued on the sidewalk when Geritano - an ex-con who beat a murder rap for a 1991 Bensonhurst slay - whipped out a blade and started slashing Iacono.
"He was violently stabbing the other guy," said a witness who declined to give her name. "There was blood everywhere. The guy getting stabbed was screaming."
Another witness said Iacono was trying to settle the hot-tempered Geritano, who sources said was off his medication, moments before the attack.
"Mark was trying to get the guy to calm down," he said. "They made their way up the block and the guy started stabbing Mark."
Iacono - a married father of one - was taken to Lutheran Medical Center with multiple stab wounds to his throat, back and legs, authorities said. He was listed in stable condition and is expected to survive.
"He's alive," said a relative, who did not want to give his name. "He lost a lot of blood, but he's going to be all right."
Geritano, a reputed Gambino family associate, dropped the kitchen knife at the scene and sped off in a van. He was arrested soon after he checked into Long Island College Hospital in Cobble Hill with cuts to his hands, sources said. Charges are pending.
"Why'd I do what?" Geritano barked at a reporter from his hospital bed, his hands wrapped in bloody bandages. "I have nothing to say. Have a nice day."
Geritano, who has a reputation for violence, was in stable condition last night.
"Benny is a mad dog," a law-enforcement source told the Daily News. "There is something mentally wrong with him."
Geritano - whose other prior arrests include weapons possession, harassment and menacing - comes from a mob-connected family.
His stepfather, Anthony (Shorty) Mascuzzio, was a member of John (Teflon Don) Gotti's inner circle. He was shot dead while shaking down a Manhattan disco in 1987.
Geritano's uncle, Preston Geritano, was stabbed to death in April 2004 in front of Amici, a Bay Ridge restaurant, sources said. The 57-year-old was killed by his brother-in-law, Andrew Gargiulo, then 65, over a long-standing beef, a source said.
In 1991, Preston Geritano - a Genovese crime family associate - was investigated as a suspect in the murder of Gotti's driver, Bobby Borriello, the source said.
Iacono's eatery, located on Henry St., just blocks from the stabbing, offers pizza that Zagat's has hailed as the best in New York City. GQ magazine rated it the second-best in the country in 2009.
A relative said the family was shocked that Ianoco's childhood friend attacked him.
"We all know Benny," he said. "But we don't know why he did this."
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