Anthony Senter and Joseph Testa
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Anthony Senter and Joseph Testa, better known as the Gemini twins, are two
mobster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...
s in the
Lucchese crime family The Lucchese crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, in the United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as ...
. Senter and Testa are former members of the
DeMeo crew Roy Albert DeMeo (; September 7, 1940 – January 10, 1983) was an Italian-American mobster in the Gambino crime family of New York City. He headed a group referred to as the "DeMeo crew", which became notorious for the large number of murders ...
in the Gambino crime family. In 1989, both Senter and Testa were found guilty of racketeering and 10 counts of murder, and each was sentenced to life in federal prison.


Early life

Anthony Michael Senter was born in
Canarsie, Brooklyn Canarsie ( ) is a mostly residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of Brooklyn, New York City. Canarsie is bordered on the east by Fresh Creek Basin and East 108th Street; on the north by Linden Boulevard; on the west by Ralph Aven ...
, New York, to immigrants Michael Senter (Northern Italian) and wife from
Rovereto Rovereto (; "wood of sessile oaks"; locally: ''Roveredo'') is a city and ''comune'' in Trentino in northern Italy, located in the Vallagarina valley of the Adige River. History Rovereto was an ancient fortress town standing at the frontier ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. The original family name was "Sente", but was later anglicized to "Senter". His uncle, Gambino and
Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...
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. Robert Senter gained notoriety for the kidnapping and murder of Emanuel Gambino, the nephew of Gambino crime family boss Carlo Gambino and nephew of
Paul Castellano Constantino Paul Castellano (; June 26, 1915 – December 16, 1985), was an American crime boss who succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family. Castellano was killed in an unsanctioned hit on December 16, 1985. Early life Cast ...
. On December 4, 1972, Robert Senter was arrested and confessed to the murder of Gambino. He also revealed the identities of Rickard Nilsson and Warren Schurman who were his two accomplices. On June 1, 1973, Robert pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. After his release Robert was murdered by Colombo crime family associates from Brooklyn on orders from Colombo crime family capo John Matera. 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 was born in 1955 in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. 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.


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. Senter gained a reputation for providing the crew with significant revenue from
auto theft Motor vehicle theft (also known as a car theft and, in the United States, grand theft auto) is the criminal act of stealing or attempting to steal a motor vehicle. Nationwide in the United States in 2020, there were 810,400 vehicles reporte ...
. Although Senter was a large earner for the Gemini Lounge crew, he was highly disliked by Albert DeMeo, the son of Roy DeMeo. Albert's personal judgment of Senter was that "there was something slick and phony about him". 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. 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 Canarsie ( ) is a mostly residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of Brooklyn, New York City. Canarsie is bordered on the east by Fresh Creek Basin and East 108th Street; on the north by Linden Boulevard; on the west by Ralph Aven ...
for a meeting with his men. On January 20, he was found murdered 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. According to former Lucchese acting boss
Anthony Casso Anthony Salvatore Casso (May 21, 1942 – December 15, 2020), nicknamed "Gaspipe", was an American mobster and underboss of the Lucchese crime family. During his career in organized crime, Casso was regarded as a "homicidal maniac" in the Italia ...
, 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 Constantino Paul Castellano (; June 26, 1915 – December 16, 1985), was an American crime boss who succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family. Castellano was killed in an unsanctioned hit on December 16, 1985. Early life Cast ...
and
Frank DeCicco Frank DeCicco (November 5, 1935 – April 13, 1986), also known as Frankie D and Frankie Cheech, was an American mobster consigliere and eventual underboss for the Gambino crime family in New York City. Background DeCicco was the son of Vincent ...
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. 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 in turn 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
Lucchese crime family The Lucchese crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, in the United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as ...
. According to Casso, they were responsible for the murder on June 13, 1986, of Russian-American gangster Vladimir Reznikov. Reznikov had reportedly threatened the life and family of
Marat Balagula Marat Yakovlevich Balagula (russian: Мара́т Я́ковлевич Балагула; 8 September 1943 – 19 December 2019) was a Jewish-American organized crime figure, crime boss, and close associate of the Lucchese crime family and Colom ...
, a Ukrainian immigrant who ruled the Russian Mafia in
Brighton Beach Brighton Beach is a neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, within the greater Coney Island area along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Brighton Beach is bounded by Coney Island proper at Ocean Parkway to the ...
. Balagula, who was then masterminding a multimillion-dollar gasoline bootlegging operation, had been paying tribute to the
Five Families The Five Families refers to five major New York City organized crime families of the Italian American Mafia formed in 1931 by Salvatore Maranzano following his victory in the Castellammarese War. Maranzano reorganized the Italian American gangs ...
, who regarded him as their biggest moneymaker after drugs.


Arrest and aftermath

On September 14, 1989, Senter and Testa were both sentenced to life imprisonment. Senter continues to serve his sentence at the United States Penitentiary (USP),
Allenwood, Pennsylvania Allenwood (also called Union Town) is a census-designated place in Gregg Township, Union County, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, N ...
. Testa is currently serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institute in Terminal Island for crimes that include multiple murders. In 1994, it was discovered that pension contributions were being paid into a
Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the ...
pension account in Senter's name by a cousin of Senter, one Dominic Vulpis, who owned a garbage company. A court investigator determined that $30,000 of contributions had been paid into the account over a six-year period while Senter was in prison on a life sentence. Union officials said Senter could have qualified for a pension of $1,400 a month if the payments by Canarsie Recycling had continued for another five years. 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.


References

Sources * * *


External links


New York Times:2 in Gambino Family Get Life
{{DEFAULTSORT:Senter, Anthony American gangsters of Italian descent Gangsters sentenced to life imprisonment Lucchese crime family Living people Mafia hitmen DeMeo Crew 1955 births People from Canarsie, Brooklyn Gambino crime family People convicted of racketeering American people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by the United States federal government American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the United States federal government