The New York Daily News
Jan. 12, 1993

Gang Land Column
By Jerry Capeci

Stickup Couple Has A Short Run

Thomas and Rosemarie Uva should have known better.

Both were ex-cons. Both had seen Goodfellas.

And to make matters worse, they lived in an apartment in Ozone Park, Queens, where John Gotti and his brothers became infamous as operators of the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club and the Our Friends Social Club.

From last summer to Christmas Eve, however, the Uvas behaved like a very dumb Bonnie and Clyde, holding up mob social clubs like the Hawaiian Moonlighters in Little Italy and the Veterans and Friends in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.

These are the private domains of some pretty influential Gambino family capos: Joseph (Joe Butch) Corrao (left) and James (Jimmy Brown) Failla.(right). Just like the banks of the Roaring '20s, before armed guards and video surveillance cameras, the relatively old men in the social clubs on Mulberry St. and 86th St. seemed like easy marks.

So did the men who regularly hang out at two no name clubs on Bath Avenue, two blocks from the Veterans and Friends Social Club.

After all, the patrons usually have thousands of dollars in their pockets and never carry hardware when they conduct their business in the intimacy of their clubs.

And these men, for the most part, are criminals who would never call the cops.

So with Thomas, 28, brandishing an Uzi submachinegun, and his 31 year-old bride/moll working as a wheel-woman, the Uvas began a short career of ripping off mob social clubs shortly after Thomas got out of jail in May.

In almost every case, the doors of the storefront clubs were open, and Thomas walked in with his weapon out and ordered the men to deposit their cash in a bag and gently hand it over.

On one occasion, according sources, an annoyed robbery victim warned Uva that he would eventually be found and killed.

"Everybody dies," shrugged Thomas Uva, like a seasoned revolutionary.

When Thomas hit the club a second time, the robbery victims ran out, gave chase and were impressed by Rosemarie's prowess as a getaway driver.

But as most New Yorkers know, guys like Corrao, Failla, George DeCicco and Anthony Spero have investigative techniques that rival those of the FBI and NYPD.

For the record, Corrao, who faces trial soon on racketeering charges, is proprietor of the Hawaiian Moonlighters; Failla, a former bodyguard/chauffeur to Carlo Gambino, operates the Veterans and Friends; DeCicco, uncle of slain Gotti underboss Frank DeCicco, runs the Bath Ave. no-name near Bay 13th St.; Spero, who owns a nearby car service, operates the no-name near Bay l6th St.

And while Corrao, Failla and DeCicco -- all reputed Gambino capos -- and Spero, a reputed Bonanno consigliere, agree with many law enforcement officials about the necessity of the death penalty. But they don't go along with legal niceties like jury trials.

And so, early Christmas Eve, as the Uvas were about to do some last-minute Christmas shopping in Ozone Park, they were executed for the crime of stupidity by assassins who shot them each three times in the head in their Mercury Topaz at the corner of 103d Ave. and 91st St.

Law enforcement officials told Gang Land they believe the killers "got the right guys."

The Queens District Attorney's office "is investigating the shooting," said Eileen Sullivan, chief of the prosecutor's organized crime and rackets bureau.