Authorities have the precise time because of the FBI surveillance camera mounted on a pole opposite the restaurant. The bureau had also planted a bug inside. The hit took 30 seconds. A group of shadowy figures rush into the deli. A waitress screams.
Several shots ring out.
The shadowy figures flee. Prosecutors contend that the brothers' blood ties had been shredded by conflicting underworld loyalties. In 1993, they say, Joseph Ciancaglini Jr. was the underboss of the John Stanfa crime family. Merlino and Michael Ciancaglini headed a group of young upstarts trying to take control of the organization. The shooting of Joseph Ciancaglini was the start of an underworld war that raged for nearly a year and claimed several other victims.