The boat club where Roy DeMeo was found dead

This is the boat club where Roy DeMeo was found dead.

It is called the Varuna Boat Club, and it is located at 2806 Emmons Avenue in Brooklyn, New York.

DeMeo was a soldier for the Gambino family

DeMeo was a mobster who worked as a soldier for the Gambino crime family. During the 1970s and early 1980s, he headed the notorious DeMeo crew, which operated out of the Gemini Lounge on Flatlands Avenue.

Over the years, his crew picked up a fearsome reputation for dismembering people and making them disappear.

Although estimates vary, it is believed that the group committed 100–200 murders.

In the late 1970s, DeMeo set up a large auto theft enterprise. The operation, which became known as the Empire Boulevard Operation, involved shipping stolen cars to Puerto Rico and the Middle East.

However, in 1980, the operation fell apart after the FBI raided the warehouse that served as its headquarters.

Although this raid added to DeMeo's legal woes, the truth is that his downfall was already in the works.

Why was he killed?

DeMeo and his crew continued to carry out unsanctioned killings, despite repeated warnings from the leadership of the family. They even put out the word to other crime families in New York that they were available for contract murders.

DeMeo also openly bragged about some of the killings that he had personally orchestrated.

Another contentious issue was their decision to sell drugs.

When Paul Castellano became the new boss of the Gambino family in 1976, he forbade his men from getting involved in the drug trade.

However, the DeMeo crew largely ignored Castellano's order, as selling cocaine and marijuana was highly profitable.

By 1982, there was a federal investigation into the large number of murders and disappearances that were linked to DeMeo's crew.

Around the same time, Castellano began to worry that certain members of his family were "acting out" and drawing too much attention.

There were also fears that the authorities were honing in on DeMeo for his auto theft operation and that he might "flip" if he was faced with a harsh prison sentence.

All in all, it appears as though the longtime Gambino soldier was seen as a loose cannon who might bring everyone else down with him.

Consequently, Castellano ordered his death.

DeMeo's death

DeMeo disappeared on January 10th, 1983, after he attended a meeting with members of his own crew.

His family realized that something was wrong when he failed to attend his daughter's birthday party.

Ten days later, a local businessman called the police to report that a maroon Cadillac Coupe DeVille had been abandoned in the parking lot of the Varuna Boat Club in Sheepshead Bay.

The authorities found DeMeo's body inside the trunk. He had been shot multiple times in the head.

The mobster was aware that his life was in danger. In the days leading up to his death, he had reportedly thought about faking his own death.

Before leaving to attend the meeting, he deliberately left his ring, wallet, and watch at home—a sign that he knew he wasn't coming back.

Photos

Photos of the boat club and other related images.

Varuna Boat Club

This Google Street View image of the Varuna Boat Club was taken in August 2017.

The police photograph in the top-right corner shows DeMeo's body in the trunk of his wife's Cadillac.

The car had been abandoned in the parking lot of the club.

Roy's body was partially frozen due to the cold weather. It lay underneath a chandelier that he had placed in the trunk shortly before his death.

The vehicle had been reported to the police at an earlier date. However, at the time, the mobster wasn't listed as a missing person. Consequently, the officers who arrived at the boat club determined that it wasn't stolen and decided to leave it alone.

Who killed Roy DeMeo?

DeMeo was reportedly killed by Joseph Testa and Anthony Senter, who were two senior members of his own crew.

When Gambino boss Paul Castellano first ordered the hit, he struggled to find someone who was willing to take on the job.

DeMeo was a fearsome individual who had been personally involved in the murders of more than three dozen people. He was also surrounded by a small army of experienced hitmen. As a result, many of Castellano's capos shied away from getting involved.

In one bugged conversation, it was noted that even John Gotti was hesitant to take the contract.

Castellano reportedly wanted to wipe out the entire DeMeo crew because they had turned into a bloodthirsty gang of "serial killers."

Their eagerness to kill was proving to be very bad for business.

In 1983, Catellano's protege, Frank DeCicco, approached Testa and Senter and told them that there was a contract on their heads. During the meeting, he promised them that their lives would be spared if they agreed to take out their boss.

It is likely that Testa and Senter had their own worries about DeMeo's legal problem, as it was common knowledge that he was the target of a large federal investigation. If he agreed to turn state witness, the entire crew would spend the rest of their lives behind bars.

On January 10th, 1983, the two men lured their boss to a "meeting" at a house in the Canarsie neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Then, while he was seated and about to receive a cup of coffee, they opened fire on him at close range.

After murdering DeMeo, they shoved his body into the trunk of his own vehicle and parked it at the Varuna Boat Club.

Following the murder, Testa and Senter were left unharmed. However, they were forced to leave the Gambino family.

Newspaper clipping

This newspaper article was published in the Billings Gazette on April 10th, 1983.

The Gambino family had more than enough reasons to want DeMeo dead.

Not only was he drawing too much attention to their business, but there were also fears that he would cooperate with the authorities.