The conspiracy theories have certainly slowed down, and now have a bit of an amber glow for those who absorbed all of them through the news cycles of the day. When I attended a 50+ high school reunion, I met no one from my home room, but each graduating classmate asked of the other what did you remember when Kennedy was shot. Were in school that day? We all were dismissed from school that afternoon. Lots of common ground.
Now, the assassination of Francesco (Franky Boy) Cali, the reputed head of the Gambino crime family less than two weeks ago is certainty not on the level of the assassination of a president. But there are some similarities.
Mr. Cali's assailant, the 24-year-old Anthony Comello, was caught on the Saturday after the hit in Brick Township, New Jersey, not really far from Staten Island, where Mr. Cali was gunned down in front of his home in the Todt Hill section around 9:15 p.m.
The police report Mr. Comello's fingerprints were found on the license plate from Mr. Cali's Cadillac Escalade that became dislodged when Mr. Comello created a fender bender with his pickup truck. Surveillance video also showed his image handing the plate to Mr. Cali.
The aftermath of the hit is now what is in the news. What was Mr. Comello's motive for the attack? Today's NYT keeps the story going with the headline: The Mystery of the Gambino Boss and the Cipher Accused of Killing Him.
Believe me, Lee Harvey Oswald was a mystery, and remains a bit of a mystery, despite all that's become known and all that's been written about him. Oswald of course didn't live very long to feed the speculation about him after killing JFK. He was gone within 48 hours or so.
Mr. Comello has lasted a bit longer—so far. The people who run organized crime have never been portrayed as taking a hit to their leader kindly, no matter who does it. Because usually it is a so-called "sanctioned" hit that has been agreed upon by other well-placed crime family members to create a void at another family's leadership to help promote upward mobility for others. The assailants are either never caught, or are themselves eliminated by others,who in turn are never caught. It's sort of like an anonymous HR outplacement proceeding that leaves little to no trail.
Lee Harvey Oswald was apprehended quickly after the assassination, found in a movie theater. Mr. Comello was found not far away three days after. Neither seems to have considered how to disappear without a trace—how to escape apprehension. They do not seem to have had a plan in place for putting distance and time away from the site, hardly the trademarks of a professionally sanctioned and executed elimination.
Lee Harvey Oswald was believed to have been influenced by left-leaning politics, having spent time in Russia, and advocating for Castro's Cuban. He was said to have had a grudge against the Navy for giving him a dishonorable discharge. Intended victim or not, Oswald did manage to wound the Secretary of the Navy, Harold Connally, riding in the same limo with JFK and his wife Jackie.
Anthony Comello has presented his palm to show right-leaning slogans and symbols, like "M.A.G.A." Make America Great Again and QAnon, a right-wing conspiracy theory that the nation is being run by pedophiles that President Trump will eliminate, and Democratic politicians are not to be trusted.
Thus, both individuals have been analyzed for being radicalized, or influenced by a movement. How the assassination of a reputed mob leader might advance the efforts of what is viewed as influencing Mr. Comello is not known. It has been reported that perhaps he had been told to stay away from Mr. Cali's niece by Mr. Cali. Mr. Comello was not seen as a suitable suitor by a protective uncle. And that may be the motive and the rest is tangential.
Mr. Comello certainly started showing extremely odd behavior last month by being disruptive in a federal courthouse, looking to make a citizen's arrest of Mayor Bill de Blasio and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The U.S. Marshals escorted him out, but it is not clear what event put Mr. Comello's fingerprints on file that made the match to the dislodged license plate possible It is reported, he had no real interactions with law enforcement prior to that. He did show up at Gracie Mansion the day after the courthouse incident, but left the property after the police recognized him as a potential source of trouble.
The politics of the day do not seem sufficient to create an impression in someone's mind that President Trump would like to see organized crime figures eliminated. Or course, the proviso might be a rational mind, not the way Mr. Comello is seeing the world these days. He supposedly was high on marijuana when he shot Mr. Cali. How could you reasonably expect Nancy Pelosi and Mayor de Blasio to be occupying the same space at the same time in a federal courthouse?
Mr. Comello remains what he is called today: a mystery, a cipher. The best question will be how long will he continue breathing? So far, he's already beaten Oswald's record.
http://www.onofframp.blogspot.com
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