Suspect in mob boss hit flashes pro-Trump slogans on hand

The man charged with killing the boss of the Gambino crime family displays pro-Trump slogans on his hand in court.

Anthony Comello appears for his extradition hearing in Toms River, N.J., Monday, March 18, 2019. New York City police say a suspect is in custody in the shooting death of the reputed Gambino crime family boss. Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea says 24-year-old Comello was arrested Saturday, March 16, 2019, in the death of Francesco Cali on Wednesday in front of his Staten Island home. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

The man charged with killing the boss of New York’s Gambino crime family wrote pro-Donald Trump slogans on his hand and flashed them to journalists before a court hearing yesterday.

Anthony Comello, 24, was arreste­d on Sunday in New Jersey over the death of Francesco “Franky Boy” Cali last week in front of his Staten Island home.

While waiting for a court hearing to begin in Toms River, New Jersey, in which he agreed to be extradited to New York, Comello held up his left hand. On it were scrawled pro-Trump slogans including “MAGA Forever”, an abbreviation of Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again”. It also read “United We Stand MAGA” and “Patriots In Charge”. In the centre of his palm he had drawn a large circle.

Anthony Comello displays his hand work in court yesterday. Picture: AP

Comello’s lawyer, Brian Neary, would not discuss the writing on his client’s hand, nor would he say whether his client maintained his innocence. Asked by reporters after the hearing what was on Comello’s hand, Mr Neary replied, “Handcuffs”. He referred all other questions to Comello’s Manhattan lawyer, Robert Gott­lieb, who said his client had been placed in protective custody due to “serious threats” that had been made against him.

“Mr Comello’s family and friends simply cannot believe what they have been told,” Mr Gottlieb said. “There is something very wrong here and we will get to the truth about what happened as quickly as possible.”

Frank Cali in 2008. Picture: AFP

Comello sat with a slight smile in the jury box of the courtroom as dozens of reporters and photographers filed into the room. When they were in place, Comello held up his left hand to display the writing as the click and whirr of camera lenses filled the room.

During the hearing, he did not speak other than to say “Yes, sir” to the judge to respond to several procedural questions.

Cali, 53, was shot to death last Thursday by a gunman who crashed his truck into Cali’s car to lure him outside. Police said Cali was shot 10 times. Federal prosecutors referred to Cali in court filings in 2014 as the underboss of the mafia’s Gambino family, once one of the country’s most powerful crime organisations.

Since 2015 Cali had ascended to the top spot, though he was never charged with leading the gang.

His only mob-related conviction came a decade ago, when he was sentenced to 16 months in prison over an extortion scheme involving a failed attempt to build a NASCAR track on Staten Island. He was released in 2009.

Police reportedly do not believe Cali’s murder was a mob hit. The New York Post said Comello had been slighted because Cali did not believe he was of good enough character to associate with a woman in his family.

The last mafia boss to be rubbed out in New York City was Gambino don “Big Paul” Castellano, who was assassinated in 1985.

AP