On this day, April 23, in 1978, colorful gangster Salvatore Gingello was killed in a car bomb after five unsuccessful attempts.
Hailed as the new boss of a Rochester, N.Y., mob, Gingello was targeted by a rival gang trying to stake its claim on the city. He managed to sidestep assassination attempts for two months, including surviving an explosion outside of Gingello’s favorite restaurant.
Other failed ideas included planting a bomb in a children’s toy and lowering another into his nonexistent chimney. Aware of the plots but undaunted, Gingello continued to frequent his local hangouts with two bodyguards.
But on April 23, a bomb detonated under his borrowed, black Buick, ejecting his bodyguards out the side doors. In the driver’s seat, Gingello was blackened and broken from the explosion.
He died soon after because of shock and loss of blood from losing both his legs.
Drunks, hookers and pimps surrounded the wreckage and paid tribute to their hometown boss by collecting car debris and even pieces of his flesh. –
