Mob Club 'Cafe Liberty' Closes Chapter of Mafia History, Leaves Cat Homeless



From The Huffington Post:

The city's furriest mob associate is up for adoption, The New York Daily News reports. The old men who inherited a black cat when they took over former social club Cafe Liberty in Ozone Park say they can't pay the rent anymore, and need someone to take the feline off their hands.

Five years ago, Alfred (Freddy Hot) DiCongilio--the same wise guy who allegedly killed Frank Boccia inside Cafe Liberty in 1988--adopted the cat from a rescue. The four-legged creature killed rats and was a beloved pet to the crime family, most of whom have died or are now in prison.

Its name? Obama.

According to the NY Daily News: The club was founded in the mid-1960s by Gambino soldiers Anthony (Fat Andy) Ruggiano Sr. and Anthony (Tony Lee) Guerrieri.

They’re both dead now, but Guerrieri’s photo joins Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, Jimmy Durante and Rocky Marciano on the wood-paneled walls.

Most of the members were regular guys who came by to play cards, watch TV and eat — but notorious figures like Dominic (Skinny Dom) Pizzonia, the sauce-stirring capo, reigned.

In 1988, Gambino associate Frank (Geeky) Boccia was whacked in the garden with approval from Gotti.
Pizzonia and associate Alfred (Freddy Hot) DiCongilio were acquitted of the slaying, vividly described by turncoat and club founder’s son Anthony Ruggiano Jr. at trial.

“He shot him first about five times and then he (Boccia) came running back into the front of the club,” the junior Ruggiano testified.

“He (Pizzonia) said, ‘This f------ guy don’t want to die,’ and he put more bullets in the gun and ran in the back and shot him,” Ruggiano Jr. testified.

Another hair-raising event was the 1992 armed stickup of Cafe Liberty by the ill-fated Bonnie and Clyde robbery duo Thomas and Rosemarie Uva.

The Uvas were gunned down in their car while stopped at a red light on Christmas Eve.


Read full articles:

Contract is out on old Queens gang lair - NY Daily News

Mob Club 'Cafe Liberty' Looking For Someone To Adopt Black Cat Named 'Obama'

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