On the morning of April 29, 1981, 65-year-old James Bennett was shot and killed on a Brooklyn street as he left his daughter’s home. Bennett had been serving as a government witness in a major drug conspiracy case and was the only witness who could directly link Richard Mastrangelo to the purchase of four trucks later seized by federal narcotics agents carrying large quantities of marijuana and methaqualone tablets.

Bennett had testified before a grand jury on April 2, 1979, and recorded a February 1, 1979 conversation in which Mastrangelo made statements that could be interpreted as threats to deter cooperation. The trial that Bennett was to attend began April 27, 1981; his murder two days later prompted a mistrial. Later testimony by Bennett’s nephew Joseph Bennett and witness Nicholas Berardi led the court to conclude there was a preponderance of evidence linking Mastrangelo to a plot to eliminate the key witness, permitting admission of Bennett’s grand jury testimony and contributing to Mastrangelo’s conviction on conspiracy, importation, and obstruction counts.

Does anyone have additional information about Bennett’s life or who witnessed the shooting that morning?