Joseph Testa, one of the “Gemini twins”, released from prison on April 30, 2024 and retired to Nevada, died on January 26. He was 71 years old.
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| Gemini twins Anthony Senter, left, and Joey Testa. |
Testa had suffered from medical problems for years.
His longtime partner (the other Gemini Twin), Anthony Senter, 70, was released on June 21, 2024. (See the video below for a glimpse of the Gemini Twins and other members of the DeMeo crew enjoying a barbecue at their boss's house on Long Island.)
The once fearsome Gemini twins – they got their nickname from the Gemini Lounge, a bar once located on Flatlands Avenue in Canarsie, Brooklyn – were first associated with the Gambino crime family, of which they were a part. Roy DeMeo's crewmade famous by the book Murder Machine: a true story of murder, madness and the mafia by Gene Mustain and Jerry Capeci. Both men joined the Luchese family in the mid-1980s.
In 1989, prosecutors in Manhattan federal court won “a resounding victory” against the Gemini twins in the second of two trials stemming from a 1984 indictment that originally included charges against then-Gambino boss Paul Castellano. The cases included evidence of 25 murders; Senter and Testa received life sentences after being convicted of 10 of them.
The Murder Machine crew's modus operandi was to first lure the intended victim to the small apartment behind the Gemini Lounge, which was the crew's main meeting place. The victim was shot in the head – and successively “turbaned” (a towel was wrapped around the head) and stabbed once in the heart. Both efforts aimed to minimize blood flow. The crew then shredded the body, packaged the pieces and threw them into the city's dumpsters. More often than not, these packages would disappear forever into the ever-growing piles of trash that make up the Fountain Avenue landfill.
The Murder Machine authors documented 75 victims, while the FBI suspects the crew of committing between 100 and 125 murders.
DeMeo was last seen wearing a leather jacket riding shotgun when on January 10, 1983, he was on his way to a meeting. That evening, he was unable to attend his daughter Dione's birthday party. Exactly 10 days later, on January 20, DeMeo's Cadillac was found in the parking lot of the Veruna Boat Club in Brooklyn. Shot in the head – likely by the Gemini twins – DeMeo's partially frozen body was left in the trunk. Oddly, a chandelier had been placed on his body. Gambino boss Paul Castellano likely ordered DeMeo's death, says Salvatore (Sammy the Bull) Gravano.
In the video above, Roy is seen first, telling “Freddy” to turn off the camera, he says it twice, then quietly adds “I'm going to shoot you!”
Henry Borelli, in a black T-shirt, offers us an interpretation of “Ben Dover's” speech. (It's a real Brooklyn accent).
Then someone off-screen (possibly Dominic Montiglio) says, “I think I had the machine the whole time.”
Someone else responds, with apparent disappointment: “Oh really?”
Then the sound abruptly (and strangely) stops… We move on to the Gemini Twins.
The camera is probably Freddy, who Roy is talking to at the beginning.
Chris Rosenberg, Roy's troubled “adopted” son, is not seen, meaning this may have been filmed after his murder. Or that he hadn't come yet, of course….
The crew's downfall began with an anonymous tip to Brooklyn detectives.
“A lot of people go missing in Canarsie,” said an unidentified caller.
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| Roy DeMeo. |
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| Gambino Nino Gaggi capo. |
If there were gunshots, he told Dom, take out anyone who comes through the front door.
Dom was ready to carry out his uncle's orders, even speculating about how he would be on the run for the rest of his life.
Gaggi was promoted to capo of Castellano's old crew and remained close to Castellano, hoping to eventually become the underboss. However, the trouble Roy caused Castellano (after ordering DeMeo's murder, Paul was later indicted due to Roy's massive car theft ring) prevented Gaggi from taking the position. Gaggi died in prison of natural causes in 1988.
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| Dominique Montiglio. |
“After my uncle Nino ordered him to assassinate his protégé Chris Rosenberg, he locked himself in his office and cried for 2 days because he loved him so much. So he really had two sides: a ruthless killer and an absolutely 100% caring family man who would do anything for his family. Even though I know he asked his son Albert to do a few things that really messed him up, I mean the kid wasn't cut out for that life and I think he ended up in a mental asylum.”
