In a twist of events that reads more like a silver-screen script, an elderly reputed mobster is accused of throwing a punch not over an unsettled gaming debt, but rather as a retort to an egregious insult. Anthony “Rom” Romanello, purportedly a high-ranking member of the Genovese crime family, is facing allegations in a Brooklyn federal court that he assaulted the proprietor of the once-popular Manhattan eatery, Lincoln Square Steak.
The incident in question, which has Romanello and his co-defendant Joseph Celso facing two counts of extortion, sparked when prosecutors alleged that Romanello was acting on behalf of a Queens bookmaker to retrieve $86,000 from Shuqeri “Bruno” Selimaj – a sum said to be lost by Selimaj’s kin to a Genovese associate. A surveillance camera seemingly captured the punch, landing Romanello’s right hook squarely on Selimaj’s face and igniting a legal battle set against the backdrop of New York’s infamous mob history.
Defense attorney Jerry McMahon has painted a starkly different picture from the prosecution’s, suggesting the cause of the altercation was far less clandestine. Intending to dismantle the narrative of a violent debt collection, McMahon persuasively argued Romanello’s actions were in passionate response to highly personal insults slung by Selimaj, who went as far as to challenge Romanello’s Italian heritage and manhood.
Romanello’s age seemed to be a point of contention as well, with McMahon quipping about the supposed softness of his client’s punch, likening it to that of a child, in a courtroom bid to chip away at the gravity of the charges.
Selimaj’s testimony recounted the heavy burden of mafia intimidation, narrating how a family member had been ominously targeted by Celso, and how fears of mob retribution drove him to rectify his relatives’ significant debts post-assault.
With each passing testimony, the layers of this courthouse drama peel back to reveal the hazardous cross-section of personal bravado and intense loyalty within the world of organized crime – a saga that seems far from reaching its final act.
