Anthony Senter and Joseph Testa
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Anthony Senter and Joseph Testa, better known as the Gemini twins,
Early life
Anthony Senter | |
---|---|
Born | Anthony Michael Senter March 31, 1955 Midwood, Brooklyn, New York, United States |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | unemployed United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America carpenter's assistant |
Criminal status | imprisoned |
Children | daughter |
Allegiance | Gambino crime family - DeMeo crew Lucchese crime family |
Conviction(s) | Racketeering, 10 counts of murder |
Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
Anthony Michael Senter was born in Canarsie, Brooklyn, New York, to immigrants Michael Senter (Northern Italian) and wife from Rovereto, Italy. The original family name was "Sente", but was later anglicized to "Senter". His uncle, Gambino and Colombo associate, Robert Senter, owned the Canarsie Recycling Company in Canarsie. As a young man Anthony worked at both his father's small debris removal business and his uncle's sanitation company.
Anthony Senter married an Italian-American woman on July 24, 1977, at a catering hall in Canarsie, Brooklyn. The wedding was attended by many criminals including Gambino crime family member Roy DeMeo.
Joseph Carmine Testa | |
---|---|
Born | January 24, 1955 |
Nationality | American |
Allegiance | Gambino crime family - DeMeo crew Lucchese crime family |
Conviction(s) | Racketeering, 10 counts of murder |
Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
Joseph Carmine Testa was born in 1955 in the United States. Testa was one of nine children born to a transport truck driver and a housewife. His brother Patrick Testa also became a mobster, joining the DeMeo crew.
Gemini twins
Growing up, Anthony Senter became close friends with Joseph Testa. When Testa was fifteen, a thirteen-year-old neighbor was mugged by a knife-wielding Puerto Rican man from East New York. The assault victim complained to Testa, who gathered Senter among others and led the group in a borrowed car, spending the day searching for the assailant. In 1973, Testa was nearly killed in a bar fight with a Puerto Rican opponent, when the assailant's knife punctured his lung. Senter hunted down the Puerto Rican and nearly beat him to death with his fists.
By 1970, at the age of 15, Senter had already been convicted of auto theft three times. Testa and Senter had all of their cases dismissed because they were juveniles at the time. Testa and Senter eventually became known as the "Gemini Twins," because they were always together, and the primary hangout of the DeMeo crew was the Gemini Lounge.[2]
DeMeo crew
Chris Rosenberg hired Senter and Testa to wax his Corvette and Porsche and steal cars for him. Rosenberg introduced his friends Senter and Testa to Roy DeMeo, who asked them to join his crew. DeMeo, Rosenberg, Senter and Testa became the core of the DeMeo crew, and became notorious for their ruthless violence. The crew was suspected to be involved in 75 to 200 murders throughout the mid-1970s and into the 1980s.[3]
Senter gained a reputation for providing the crew with significant revenue from
Roy DeMeo publicly executed college student Dominick Ragucci on April 19, 1979 after mistaking him for a Cuban hitman and the crew subsequently went into hiding, with Senter and Testa fleeing to California.[3] After the murder of Rosenberg, Joseph Testa became Roy’s right hand man. Chris had previously held that position within the crew.
Murder of DeMeo
On January 10, 1983, Roy DeMeo went to crew member Patrick Testa's bodyshop Patrick Testa Motors Inc. in Canarsie, Brooklyn for a meeting with his men. On January 20, he was found dead in the trunk of his Cadillac Coupe DeVille, a chandelier placed on top of his body. The car was left abandoned at the Varuna Boat Club parking lot. He had been shot multiple times in the head and had a bullet wound in his hand, assumed by law enforcement to be from throwing his hand up to his face in a self-defense reflex when the shots were fired at him. Anthony Gaggi was originally suspected by law enforcement officials of being the one who killed DeMeo. Gaggi was not charged with the crime.[2]
According to former Lucchese acting boss Anthony Casso, DeMeo was killed at Patrick Testa's Canarsie home by Joseph Testa and Senter following an agreement with Casso, who was given the contract by Gambino crime family Boss Paul Castellano and Frank DeCicco after they were unable to kill DeMeo in the fall of 1982. DeMeo was seated, about to receive coffee, when Testa and Senter opened fire. Anthony Gaggi was not present.[4]
According to Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano, Paul Castellano wanted to have the whole DeMeo crew killed, because they had all turned into serial killers. He gave the contract to John Gotti, who gave it to Frank DeCicco. Realising how difficult it was going to be, DeCicco went to the Gemini Twins, Testa and Senter, and told them about the contract on them, but promised them that they would get a pass if they killed DeMeo.
After DeMeo was hit, the Gambino family kept their word about sparing Senter and Testa, but didn't want them on their books. That's why they were passed to Anthony Casso and the Luccheses. As Sammy said, 'Gaspipe (Casso) was half a fucking nut himself!'.
Move to the Lucchese family
After the murder of Roy DeMeo, Senter and Testa drifted into the
Arrest and aftermath
In 1986, Senter and Testa were acquitted of conspiracy to ship stolen cars; the jury was deadlocked on charges of murder against the pair.[5]
On September 14, 1989, Senter and Testa were both sentenced to life imprisonment. Senter continues to serve his sentence at the
In 1994, it was discovered that pension contributions were being paid into a
Senter will not collect the pension. The Teamsters disqualified Senter as a member and the Pension Fund rejected his pension claim. It is unclear whether Senter's cousin, Dominic Vulpis, or the garbage company he owns, received a refund of the fraudulent contributions.[6]
On June 22, 2022, Senter was granted parole by the United States Parole Commission (USPC) and scheduled for release on June 22, 2024.[7][8][9] He was transferred from the United States Penitentiary, Canaan, Pennsylvania to a halfway house in New York in December 2023.[9]
In February 2024, the USPC also ordered the release of Testa.[10] He has a scheduled release date of April 30, 2024.[11]
References
- ^ DeMeo 2003, p. p. 83.
- ^ a b c d Mustain 1993
- ^ a b c DeMeo 2003, p. 129 & 138.
- ^ Carlo 2009.
- ^ Trial of Gambino ‘Family’ Ends With Murder, Theft Convictions Los Angeles Times (March 6, 1986) Archived April 22, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Raab, Selwyn (4 June 1994). "Teamsters Local Aids Hit Man's Quest for Pension". The New York Times.
- ^ Anthony Senter, Murder Machine Gangster Convicted Of Ten Killings, Granted Parole Jerry Capeci, GangLandNews.com (November 16, 2023) Archived November 17, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Federal Inmate Locator". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
BoP Register Number 07555-054
- ^ a b Murder Machine Gangster Anthony Senter Out Of Prison, In 'Halfway House' Jerry Capeci, GangLandNews.com (November 7, 2023) Archived December 11, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Gemini Twins Win Parole After 34 years; For Cohort Dirty Henry, It's 37 Years And Counting Jerry Capeci, GangLandNews.com (February 29, 2024) Archived March 2, 2024, at archive.today
- ^ "Federal Inmate Locator". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
BoP Register Number 07556-054
Sources
- DeMeo, Albert (2003). For the sins of my father : a Mafia killer, his son, and the legacy of a mob life. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 978-0-7679-1129-0.
- Mustain, Gene (1993). Murder machine : a true story of murder, madness, and the Mafia. New York: Onyx. ISBN 0-451-40387-8.
- Carlo, Philip (2009). Gaspipe : confessions of a Mafia boss. New York: Harper. ISBN 978-0061429859.