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.

In January 1983, the Gambino mobster was allegedly murdered by his associates due to concerns he might cooperate with a grand jury investigation. Following the killing, they placed his body in the trunk of his Cadillac and abandoned it at this parking lot.

DeMeo crew

DeMeo 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 earned a fearsome reputation for dismembering people and making them disappear.

Various sources estimate that the group may have committed 75-125 murders, although the exact number varies.

Downfall

In the late 1970s, DeMeo set up a large auto theft enterprise. The scheme, 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 the raid added to DeMeo's legal woes, his downfall was already in motion.

DeMeo and his crew continued to carry out unsanctioned killings, despite repeated warnings from the leadership of the family. They even informed 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 the 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 zeroing in on DeMeo for his auto theft operation and that he might "flip" if he was faced with a harsh prison sentence.

By then, the longtime Gambino soldier was viewed as a loose cannon who might bring everyone else down with him.

Consequently, Castellano ordered his death.

Death

Castellano reportedly wanted to wipe out DeMeo and most of his crew, viewing them as an uncontrolled gang of "serial killers" whose violence was bad for business.

However, when he first ordered the hit, he struggled to find someone willing to take 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, investigators heard rumors that even John Gotti was hesitant to take the contract.

In 1983, Castellano's protégé, Frank DeCicco, approached Joseph Testa and Anthony Senter, who were two senior members of DeMeo's crew.

During the meeting, he said that there was a contract on their heads but promised that their lives would be spared if they agreed to take out their boss.

By that point, it is likely that Testa and Senter had their own worries about DeMeo's legal problems. If their boss did agree to turn state witness, they would likely spend the rest of their lives behind bars.

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

The mobster was aware that his life was in danger. In the days leading up to his disappearance, 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.

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

It is believed that Testa and Senter lured their boss to a garage in the Canarsie neighborhood of Brooklyn.

As he was about to be served a cup of coffee, they opened fire on him at close range.

After murdering DeMeo, they placed him into the trunk of his vehicle and then parked it at the Varuna Boat Club.

Discovery

Ten days later, a local businessman called the police to report that a maroon Cadillac Coupe DeVille was abandoned in the parking lot of the club.

A local resident had reported the vehicle to the police at an earlier date. However, because DeMeo was not listed as a missing person at the time, the responding officers assumed the car wasn't stolen and left it alone.

While responding to the second call, the police found DeMeo inside the trunk. He had been shot multiple times in the head.

Due to the cold weather, the body was partially frozen. It lay underneath a chandelier that the mobster had placed in the vehicle shortly before his death.

Following the murder, Testa and Senter were left unharmed. They subsequently left the organization and switched their allegiances to the Lucchese crime family, where they worked for underboss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso.