It might not be all that surprising to hear about a mobster meeting a grisly death, but for an elderly former captain of the Genovese crime family, that violent end didn’t come at the hand of a rival criminal.

Instead, reports indicate that 86-year-old Antonio “Tony Cakes” Conigliaro was struck and decapitated by a New York City Department of Transportation truck as he crossed the street earlier this month.

As Fox News reported:

“He spent his life looking over his shoulder, but he forgot to look both ways before crossing the street,” one police source said.

Authorities said Conigliaro was crossing Dahlgren Place against a “don’t walk” sign in a marked crosswalk when the 31-year-old driver of a Ford F550 truck was turning on a green light and struck him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver remained at the scene and no arrests have been made, police said.

Conigliaro, who for years worked in the wholesale cake business, sold sweets across the New York City area and ran an Italian ice and gelato stand in Little Italy, was accused by federal prosecutors in 2005 of being a soldier in the Genovese crime family.

The revelation sparked a range of reactions on social media:

UPDATE: The 86-year-old man who was decapitated by a DOT truck in NYC was identified as Genovese mobster “Tony Cakes.”

“He spent his life looking over his shoulder but he forgot to look both ways before crossing the street,” one police source said.

Brooklyn federal prosecutors… https://t.co/imSGpkWdxX pic.twitter.com/yH13uUW4G4

— I Meme Therefore I Am (@ImMeme0) June 21, 2024

NEW: Former acting captain of the Genovese crime family, ‘Tony Cakes', identified as NYC pedestrian decapitated by DOT truck in Brooklyn crosswalk

“He spent his life looking over his shoulder but he forgot to look both ways before crossing the street,” one police source said… https://t.co/xrYzj8hfP9 pic.twitter.com/jHAJ7mVgyP

— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) June 21, 2024

What a strange (some might say karmic) development.

NYC mobster known as ‘Tony Cakes’ identified as pedestrian decapitated by truck: report https://t.co/iHMj1RLhC4 #FoxNews

— Bo Snerdley (@BoSnerdley) June 22, 2024

A neighbor remembered the octogenarian as a quiet guy, apparently unaware of his mob ties, as the New York Post explained:

“We miss him. Everybody misses him,” he said.

But the neighbor didn’t know about Conigliaro’s past — which not only included a connection to the mafia, but also a nearly two-decade-old racketeering case.

Brooklyn federal prosecutors in 2005 accused Conigliaro — who toiled for years in the wholesale cake business, selling sweets across the New York City area and running an Italian ice and gelato stand in Little Italy, according to court documents — of being a soldier in the Genovese crime family.

Conigliaro worked as a loan shark for the Genovese, the feds said in a four-count indictment.

Here’s some additional coverage from the aftermath of the deadly collision:

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport.

View the original article here.