The Old Neighborhood

We will add and update this tour of the old stomping ground. Included will be actual locations of old mob fronts depicted in the film, as well as gravesites and crime sites from three decades in the mafia. Please do not hassle or bother the current residents of these areas, they had nothing to do with these activities, and if they did, then trust me, tread lightly.

JOE BUDHA’S AND FRENCHY’S MURDER SCENE
During the murder spree that followed the Lufthansa heist, on April 13th, a Buick was found on the corner of Schenectady and Avenue M in Brooklyn. Joseph “Joe Budha” Manri and Robert “Frenchy” McMahon slumped over in the front seat, each shot once in the head with a .44 caliber.   See the map

MY OLD HOUSE & THE CAB STAND
Located at 392 Pine Street, between Brownsville and East New York. This is where I was introduced to the life. As in the film, The Cab Stand was across from my house, at the time I think it was 401 Pine Street.   See the map

PRESTO PIZZA
Presto Pizza was Paulie’s pizza joint, located nearby, on Pitkin Avenue, between Crescent and Pine on the north side of the street. This is where I witnessed my first hit, and got busted for wasting aprons.   See the map

TOMMY DISIMONNE’S BACKYARD
True in the film, Tommy’s mother did live in the area, although he was rarely at the 115th Avenue and Lefferts Blvd. home (he had an apartment above Robert’s and a place with his wife). Yet he did use the backyard for burying more than just a few whack-jobs, which are probably still down there, what’s left of them.   See the map

ROBERT’S LOUNGE
The infamous Robert’s Lounge, located at Lefferts and Rockaway. Jimmy buried over a dozen bodies, including Billy Bats, Reno, and Spider, under the bocce courts. Under the club, in the basement was also a graveyard for wiseguys.   See the map

KENNEDY AIRPORT ANNEX FIELD
You could probably go out today and find signs from the rush job burials. Indentations in the ground, small lopsided mounds of earth, and probably some rusty picks and broken shovels. I haven’t been there in over a decade. The field is south of the airport, basically straight out from Lefferts Blvd. and across the inlet, on the far southwestern reaches of the marshy airport property, perpendicular to the JFK Expressway. We weren’t the only ones. For years Murder Incorporated used this area for dumping and disposal.   See the map