An elderly man who was decapitated by a truck in front of shocked onlookers has been identified as a mobster.
Anthony Conigliaro was killed on June 12 when a city Department of Transportation truck plowed into him while he was making a right turn.
According to reports, the 86-year-old had been crossing Dahlgren Place - despite a "don't walk" sign - in a marked crosswalk when a Ford F550 truck turned on a green light and slammed into him.
Stomach-curdling footage of the tragedy captured the Conigliaro's head separated from his body and lying yards away on the street.
The NY Post reported that the driver of the vehicle was seen looking inconsolable following the tragedy.
Before his sudden death, Conigliaro was living a peaceful life in a small apartment building in the Bay Ridge area.
One neighbor told The New York Post that the late man was always looking out for others, adding: “We miss him. Everybody misses him."
But now it has emerged that Conigliaro - a father-of-two - was connected to a two-decade-old racketeering case involving the mafia.
He previously pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge and served a 13-month sentence.
Conigliaro was accused by federal prosecutors in 2005 of being a soldier in the Genovese crime family.
The family is known as one of the Five Families that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and New Jersey, with the Gambino, Lucchese, Bonanno, and Colombo families being the other four.
Police also disclosed that the elderly man worked as a loan shark for the Genovese and that in 1999, he was also apprehended for criminal usury - an offense that saw him charging an exorbitant rate of interest on a loan.
He was also arrested in 2006 in a grand larceny case.
Following his release from prison, Conigliaro worked in the wholesale cake business, by selling sweets and running an Italian ice and gelato stand in Little Italy. He earned the dessert-themed nicknames "Tony Cakes" and "Tony the Dessert Man".
Mathew Mari, a longtime mob attorney who regarded Conigliaro as a friend and client, stated that the late man came up with a plan for his successful company after his time behind bars.
“Later on in life, he became known as Tony the Dessert Man,” Mari said. “He was a kind gentle soft spoken very quiet guy. Always trying to help people.”
A small memorial for Conigliaro - which was four bouquets and two candles - was set up at 92nd Street and Dahlgren Place, where he was fatally killed.
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