20 OCTOBER 19, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
Seeking justice for a good cop slain in Ridgewood
BY THE OLD TIMER
EDITORIAL@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
At about 8 p.m. on the night of Jan.
21, 1986, two undercover detectives
assigned to the NYPD
Organized Crime Control Bureau were
hot on the trail of a reputed mobster
operating an illegal gaming parlor in
Ridgewood.
Detectives Anthony J. Venditti
and Karen Burke were staking out
Federico (a.k.a. Fritzy) Giovanelli as
part of an ongoing investigation into
mob activities in the area. It was part
of the NYPD’s ongoing war on organized
crime, a routine operation that
the bureau’s detectives use to gather
important information on mafia
operations.
What happened that night, however,
was anything but routine — and ended
with a murder that shocked the
entire city.
The two detectives trailed Giovanelli
to a location in the area of Myrtle and
St. Nicholas avenues.
Venditti then walked into what was
then Castillo’s Diner, and then walked
out moments later.
Upon exiting the restaurant, he
was confronted by Giovanelli and two
associates, who shoved him against a
wall. Burke saw this, exited her vehicle
and went to his aid while letting out a
warning.
But seconds later, the suspects
pulled out guns and opened fi re at the
two detectives. Venditti was hit four
times — twice in the head, and twice
in the back — while Burke was shot in
the chest. The crew then fl ed the scene.
Burke was critically injured but
managed to recover, but Venditti could
not be saved.
It was a tragic end to what former
Police Commissioner Raymond
Kelly described in 2012 was “a stellar
career in the Police Department.
Venditti earned 17 departmental
commendations in just 14 years on
duty. In death, Venditti would earn
another distinction: the NYPD Medal
of Honor, the highest award given
to an offi cer, which was presented
posthumously.
The people of Ridgewood wouldn’t
forget Venditti. They would rename
the intersection of Myrtle and St. Nicholas
avenues as Detective Anthony J.
Venditti Square, which would become
one of the neighborhood’s most
notable points of interest. The plaza
was fi rst opened in 1989, and then
rededicated in 2011, 25 years aft er the
detective’s death. Many of Venditti’s
family members joined Police Commissioner
Kelly, numerous high-ranking
NYPD offi cials local elected offi cials
and other dignitaries in attending the
rededication ceremony.
As for Giovanelli and the suspects
who gunned down the detective that
fateful evening in 1986, police would
catch up to them quickly. Giovanelli,
along with Steven Maltese and Carmine
Gualtiere, were arrested shortly
aft er the shooting — but bringing justice
to them would not be easy.
The fi rst trial against the three men
ended with a hung jury; in fact, one of
the jurors was later charged with and
convicted of perjury for lying when
questioned under oath that a member
of his family hadn’t been arrested or
participated in a criminal proceeding.
The second trial also ended in controversy
and fury, as the front page
story on the April 28, 1988, cover of
the Ridgewood Times detailed.
Gualtiere was acquitted of the
charges against him on April 20, but
two days later jurors considering
the charges against Giovanelli and
Maltese told presiding Judge John
Gallagher that they were “hopelessly
deadlocked.”
After Gallagher rendered his
decision, “the courtroom exploded,”
according to the Ridgewood Times
report.
“Ann Venditti, the dead officer’s
mother, leaped to her feet, screaming
in Italian at Giovanelli, ‘Son of a whore!’
Giovanelli, turning red, shouted back
as attorneys tried to calm him.
“The detective’s widow, Patricia
Venditti, stood and asked Maltese,
‘Why did you kill him?’ but Maltese
remained seated and refused to speak.
“The jury was reportedly deadlocked
8 to 4 for acquittal of both defendants
on murder and gun charges,
and 7 to 5 for acquittal of Giovanelli on
an aggravated assault count.”
The Times report went on to note
that a key turning point in the trial
occurred when a witness to the shooting
recanted statements he had made
to police that he witnessed Gualtiere
shoot Venditti in the head. The witness
further claimed that police pressured
him into picking Gualtiere from a
lineup; prosecutors charged that the
witness had been intimidated into
changing his testimony.
Two weeks later, the Ridgewood
Times reported that then-Queens
District Attorney John Santucci
announced his intention to re-try
Giovanelli and Maltese for Venditti’s
murder. His decision came aft er meeting
with the slain detective’s family.
As it happened, Giovanelli and Maltese
would ultimately be acquitted of
the charges in the third Venditti trial.
But both men would wind up in prison
anyway, as they were later convicted
of federal racketeering charges.
Even though justice was never fully
served to the detective’s killers, the
people of Ridgewood keep his memory
alive at the plaza named in his honor.
It stands as a tribute to a good cop who
died doing the job that he loved, in
dedication to the safety and security
of every New Yorker.
If you have stories of Our Neighborhood
that you’d like to share with
us, email The Old Timer at editorial@
ridgewoodtimes.com (subject: Old
Timer), or write to The Old Timer, ℅
Ridgewood Times, 38-15 Bell Blvd.,
Bayside, NY 11361.
NYPD Assistant Chief Diana Pizzuti leaves a fl ower on the memorial
plaque at Venditti Square (Photo: Robert Pozarycki/RIDGEWOOD TIMES)
Photo: Robert Pozarycki/RIDGEWOOD TIMES
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly speaks at an October 2011 ceremony
rededicating Detective Anthony J. Venditti Square in Ridgewood.
Detective Anthony J. Venditti
