The location where Frank DeCicco was killed

Crime Scene Location in Brooklyn, New York

This is the location where a car bomb killed mobster Frank DeCicco.

It is situated at 1455 86th Street in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.

At the time of the murder, it was a car dealership called Baron Buick. These days, it is an AutoZone Auto Parts store.

DeCicco, who was nicknamed "Frankie D" and "Frankie Cheech", was a soldier in the Gambino crime family.

During the 1970s, he rose through the ranks of the organization as a protege of crime boss Paul Castellano.

Frank DeCicco's car — Investigators immediately suspected that the hit was revenge for Castellano's death.

In 1983, Castellano instructed DeCicco to arrange the murder of a fearsome Gambino soldier named Roy DeMeo. At the time, there were fears that DeMeo might flip, as it was common knowledge that he was the target of a large federal investigation.

After failing to find someone brave enough to carry out the contract, DeCicco approached two hitmen in DeMeo's crew and coerced them into killing their own boss.

By the mid-1980s, DiCicco, like many members of the Gambino crime family, had grown tired of Castellano's leadership. Believing that it was time for a change, he conspired with John Gotti and other senior figures to assassinate "Big Paul" outside of Sparks Steak House in Manhattan.

DeCicco Castellano — Gotti and DeCicco (right) orchestrated the unsanctioned killing of Castellano (left).

Following the murder, Gotti took control of the family. Meanwhile, DiCicco was appointed as the new underboss.

This coup proved to be deeply unpopular with the bosses of the Genovese and Lucchese crime families, as the hit on Castellano had not been sanctioned.

To kill the boss of a family, you needed the authorization of the Commission, which was the main governing body of the Italian-American mafia. However, in this case, Gotti and DiCicco had completely sidestepped these protocols.

The punishment for such an act was death. As a result, a contract was put on both of their heads.

On April 13th, 1986, DiCicco exited a nearby social club and walked across the street to his gray 1985 Buick Electra, which was parked on the sidewalk beside the car dealership. He was accompanied by Frank Bellino, a union official and mobster from the Lucchese family.

86th Street — The two men left the social club and walked across the road to the vehicle.

Unbeknownst to the two men, a Genovese hitman and former US Army munitions expert named Herbie "Blue Eyes" Pate had planted a C4 bomb underneath the front of the vehicle.

When DiCicco got into the passenger seat to search for a business card, Pate detonated the device using a remote control.

Herbie Pate — The murder was carried out by Genovese hitman Herbie "Blue Eyes" Pate.

The blast turned the Buick into a fireball and shattered nearby windows.

DiCicco was killed instantly, while Bellino was left with serious, lifelong injuries.

It is believed that Pate mistook Bellino for Gotti, who was also supposed to be there that day. However, Gotti avoided death by changing his plans at the last moment.

Frank DeCicco death location

The address and the GPS coordinates for this location are as follows:

Address

1455 86th Street, Brooklyn, New York, NY 11228, USA

Map

To view directions on how to get there, you can use the Google Maps shortcut below:

Google Maps

GPS coordinates

The latitude and longitude coordinates for the street are:

40.612000, -74.010260

Directions

DeCicco's vehicle was parked roughly 500 feet east of the intersection between 14th Avenue and 86th Street.

Details about the general area

The street is sandwiched in between the Bensonhurst and Bath Beach neighborhoods of Brooklyn. It lies to the east of Dyker Beach Park.

Photos

Photos of the street and other related images.

Death location

This Google Street View image of 1455 86th Street was taken in September 2022.

Frank DeCicco's vehicle was parked on the sidewalk beside the Baron Buick dealership.

The bombing was orchestrated by the boss of the Genovese family, Vincent Gigante, who was incensed at the fact that Paul Castellano had been gunned down without the approval of the Commission.

In his mind, an unsanctioned hit against the official boss of a family was far too serious to go unpunished.

Consequently, he decided to kill the ringleaders of the coup.

Gigante was known as a traditionalist who typically stuck to old-school mob values.

Interestingly, he used this reputation to his advantage.

By the mid-1980s, car bombs had long fallen out of favor with the mafia due to the risk of killing innocent civilians. However, for the hit on Gotti and DeCicco, Gigante specifically ordered his men to use an explosive device because he knew that killing the two men in such a manner would divert suspicions away from the Genovese family.

1468 86th Street

Image source: Google Maps

That Sunday afternoon, DeCicco attended a meeting at a Gambino hangout at 1468 86th Street, which was opposite the car dealership.

The "social club" was being run by a Gambino capo named James "Jimmy Brown" Failla. Also present that day was Lucchese soldier Frank Bellino, who ran various union scams.

As the meeting came to a close, Bellino asked if he could have some business cards. However, the cards in question were in DeCicco's Buick Electra.

At that point, Bellino accompanied DeCicco out of the social club and followed him across the street.

When the pair reached the vehicle, DeCicco got into the passenger seat to search for the cards. Meanwhile, Bellino stood on the sidewalk.

While they were chatting, Genovese hitman Herbie Pate saw Bellino and mistook him for John Gotti, as the two men had the same build and similar hairstyles. Believing that he was about to take out the two leading figures of the Gambino family, he immediately detonated the C4 bomb.

Coordinates: 40.611597, -74.010164

Google Maps

Frank DeCicco

DeCicco became the underboss of the Gambino crime family after he took part in the murder of his boss and former mentor, Paul Castellano.

He was an intelligent and understated mobster who purposely avoided the limelight (this would explain why there are very few photographs of him).

In the lead-up to Castellano's death, senior members of the Gambino family expressed their belief that he should take the top spot instead of Gotti. However, DeCicco was shrewd enough to know that Gotti was far too egotistical to play second fiddle.

During a conversation with Gambino soldier "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, he explained that it was a better strategy to let Gotti become the new boss and see how it all played out. He then promised, "If it doesn't work within a year—me and you—we'll kill him."