Waving Pro-MAGA Slogans, Cali Killer Anthony Comello Also Waves Extradition To Staten Island To Face Charges

Anthony Comello, 24, appeared in court yesterday (March 18) waving his palms in the air to reveal pro-Donald Trump slogans—"MAGA Forever," "United We Stand MAGA," and "Patriots In Charge”—while awaiting a hearing in Toms River. We noted previously that he allegedly told the NYPD that he’d asked President Trump (and Vice President Mike Pence) for permission to kill reputed Gambino acting boss Francesco (Frankie Boy) Cali, and that he also claimed he’d heard voices.

Anthony Comello holds up hand.
Anthony Comello holds up hand.


Comello, in custody for shooting Cali to death, reportedly waived extradition back to New York City.

Comello's lawyer, Brian Neary, would not discuss the writing on his client's hand, nor would he say whether Comello is claiming innocence.  Neary referred questions to Comello's Manhattan lawyer, Robert Gottlieb, who said he was anxious to get his client back to Staten Island to fight the pending charges.




Comello has been held in Ocean County since Saturday morning when he was arrested at his family's summer home in Brick. He will be brought to New York to face charges for the shooting death of Cali, who was gunned down in front of his Staten Island home after a car accident that allegedly was used to lure Cali out of the house.

Comello was dating Cali’s niece, and Cali had had problems with that, which seems to be the only motive behind the stunning shooting last Wednesday night. Comello reportedly has no prior arrests. Detectives discovered a fingerprint on Cali's Cadillac SUV, and the suspect was tracked via his cellphone. The blue pickup truck eyewitnesses saw at the scene was with him when cops and FBI agents found him in Brick.

Investigators spent the weekend searching his homes in New Jersey and Staten Island, saying Comello was linked to the crime with forensic evidence.

Police are still trying to determine whether Comello was working alone.

"At this point, our investigation will turn to, was there other parties involved in this, gathering additional future evidence, and working on the motive for the particular crime," NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said.

Shea said that Comello had "crossed paths in some limited circumstances with the NYPD," including by getting a parking ticket on Staten Island the same day that Cali was killed.

Comello is believed to have deliberately crashed into Cali’s SUV, knocking the license plate off. When Cali went outside to see what had happened, surveillance video reportedly showed the two men talking and shaking hands. Apparently, Cali sensed no danger because he turned his back to put the license plate inside the rear of the SUV, which is when the gunman took out a 9-mm handgun, which he held with both hands -- as if he was trained, the sources said – and began shooting.

Cali's wife and child were in the home at the time.



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