Twenty-five years ago, Anthony Venditti, a Country Club resident and NYPD officer, was gunned down while investigating organized crime families.
On January 21, 1986, Venditti, who was only 34-years-old at the time, was shot to death outside a diner in Queens while on an organized crime stake-out. More than two decades after Venditti’s death, police and friends still have not forgotten the fallen hero and a memorial service was held for him on Saturday, January 22 at Our Lady of the Assumption Church. The service was attended by hundreds of retired and active police officers, family members and friends from the neighborhood.
“I was not surprised to see so much support because a cop being shot is something they, especially in the department, never forget,” said Anna Venditti, Anthony’s mother. The ceremony included an honor guard, a bagpipe performance and a special address by OLA’s Fr. Donald Dwyer and a police chaplain.
Alumni of OLA and many of Venditti’s friends and family attended. The passing of Anthony “Tony” L. Venditti, Anthony’s father, who was a World War II veteran that died on January 13, 1999, was also commemorated.
“All of his friends were here,” Anna said about her son. “He went to OLA and graduated from Mount St. Michael Academy.”
Even police officers who came on the force after 1986 attended the service, said Vic Cipullo, vice-president of the Detectives Endowment Association, which is the labor union for detectives.
“It’s something that we do when one of our own makes the ultimate sacrifice. It’s nice to show the family that their father will never be forgotten,” said Cipullo, who knew Venditti personally. “As a cop he was very active. I’d see him all the time in court. He was always out there, making arrests and doing his job, which is a tough job. It was good even for some of the officers that didn’t know him to see that, God forbid anything happens, their families won’t be forgotten.”
The Venditti family has lived in Country Club for more than 50 years. When Anthony was killed, Venditti left behind his wife, Patti, and their four children, who are now living throughout the metropolitan area.
Three men, one of them with suspected ties to the Genovese organized crime family, were initially charged with second-degree murder in connection with the case. However, they were all eventually acquitted.
The cases ended in hung juries and overturned convictions because of problems with witness’ testimony.
A key witness was found dead prior to the fourth and final trial in 1989, when the three suspects were convicted of racketeering, for which they received prison terms.
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