On October 1, 1979, 33-year-old James A. Eppolito Jr. and his 64-year-old father, James Eppolito Sr., were shot to death in Brooklyn while inside their car. Both men were made members of the Gambino crime family and had been involved in a dispute that began with a troubled cocaine deal linked to associates of Roy DeMeo.

Accounts say DeMeo and Anthony Nino Gaggi accused the younger Eppolito of being a police informant. James Sr. appealed to family boss Paul Castellano and asked permission to have DeMeo and Gaggi killed for dealing drugs; Castellano refused and sided with Gaggi. During what was presented as a sit-down on the way to the Gemini Lounge, Gaggi is reported to have shot James Jr. in the head multiple times and DeMeo to have fired the shots that killed the elder Eppolito.

A passing motorist witnessed the attack and alerted a police officer, prompting a shootout in which Gaggi was wounded in the neck and arrested. DeMeo escaped and was not immediately identified by the witness. Gaggi was charged with murder but was later convicted only of assault and given a five-to-fifteen-year sentence amid reports of jury tampering.

Did anyone in Brooklyn at the time have information about the Gemini Lounge meeting or the events that night?