The location where Thomas Eboli was killed

This is the location where Thomas Eboli was shot dead.

It is situated at 388 Lefferts Avenue in Brooklyn, New York.

Genovese family

Eboli (aka Tommy Ryan) was a mobster in the Genovese crime family.

His position in the organization remains a subject of debate. Some authors claim that he was the acting boss of the family, while others believe that he was part of a three-man ruling panel. There are also reports that he may have served as a decoy boss to draw attention away from the real one.

Regardless of his exact role, there is no disputing that he was one of the most senior members of the Genovese family.

In 1969, the official boss of the organization, Vito Genovese, died while he was serving a lengthy prison sentence for importing narcotics. His death caused turmoil within the upper echelons of the family, as there was a lot of uncertainty over who should step up and replace him.

Although Eboli was seen as a potential successor, it was public knowledge that he had been suffering from serious health problems. In the same year that Genovese died, he reportedly suffered three separate heart attacks.

In a bid to strengthen his power, Eboli decided to set up a new drug trafficking operation. However, in order to do so, he needed a considerable amount of startup money.

Loan

To fund the operation, he borrowed $4 million from Carlo Gambino, who was the boss of the Gambino family and the chairman of the mafia's official governing body, the Commission.

His plan was to finance a large drug deal with a heroin importer named Louis Cirillo and then repay Gambino using the profits.

The deal fell apart after Cirillo and 22 other people were arrested and charged with smuggling roughly 1,500 pounds of heroin into the United States.

This left Eboli in a perilous position, as he didn't have enough money to pay back the loan.

When representatives from the Gambino family approached Eboli and demanded, he reportedly refused.

Consequently, Gambino ordered his death.

Murder

In the early hours of July 16th, 1972, Eboli left his girlfriend's apartment on Lefferts Avenue and walked back to his Cadillac, which was being driven by his chauffeur, Joseph Sternfeld.

Once he opened the door and sat inside, a gunman shot him five times at close range, killing him instantly.

Sternfeld initially told investigators that the assassin had opened fire from a passing truck. However, the forensic evidence indicated that the killer was just one foot away.

Eboli was later found face-down on the pavement, surrounded by broken glass. This suggests that he either staggered from the vehicle during the shooting and collapsed or that Sternfeld pushed his body onto the sidewalk and sped away.

Although Sternfeld cooperated with the investigation, he told detectives that he didn't see the gunman because he ducked down when the shooting occurred.

Due to the lack of witnesses and suspects, no one was ever charged with the crime.

Gambino theory

Several authors have posited the theory that Gambino set Eboli up by conspiring against his drug operation so that he could "whack" him for non-repayment and then replace him with his ally, Frank "Funzi" Tieri.

However, Cirillo's arrest wasn't based on an anonymous tip-off or anything that might hint at Gambino's involvement.

Instead, it was the outcome of a lengthy surveillance operation that American, French, and Canadian investigators carried out across multiple cities in North America and Europe.

Considering the complex nature of such an investigation, it seems unlikely that this theory is true.