Ronald Jerothe - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Ronald Jerothe also known as "Foxy" (born Ronald Gerote) (May 24, 1947 - December 12, 1974) was an American mobster and member of the Bergin Crew, who operated out of John Gotti's club, the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club

Bergin Hunt and Fish Club

The Bergin Hunt and Fish Club is a former Gambino crime family mob hangout and headquarters that was located at 98-04 101st Avenue in Ozone Park .-Today:...

, in Ozone Park, Queens. Jerothe was killed in 1974 by Lucchese crime family

Lucchese crime family

The Lucchese crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The family originated in the early 1920s with Gaetano "Tommy" Reina serving as boss up until his murder...

associate Thomas "Two-Gun Tommy" DeSimone

Thomas DeSimone

Thomas "Two-Gun Tommy" Anthony DeSimone was an Italian-American gangster and associate of the Lucchese crime family in New York. Also known as "Tommy D" or "Tommy Two-Guns", he was a grandson and nephew of Los Angeles mob bosses Rosario DeSimone and Frank DeSimone...

over a dispute involving Jerothe's sister.

Jerothe's primary racket was hijacking; John Gotti and bodyguard of Aniello Dellacroce

Aniello Dellacroce

Aniello John "Mr. Neil" Dellacroce , also known as "Father O'Neil" and "The Tall Guy", was an Italian-American gangster and underboss of the Gambino crime family. A capo of his own crew for many years he rose to the position of underboss when Carlo Gambino moved Joseph Biondo aside.-Early...

. He was also a close friend of Salvatore Polisi and Thomas DeSimone. Ronald was a “stick up man” involved in hijacking

Carjacking

Carjacking is a form of hijacking, where the crime is of stealing a motor vehicle and so also armed assault when the vehicle is occupied. Historically, such as in the rash of semi-trailer truck hijackings during the 1960s, the general term hijacking was used for that type of vehicle abduction,...

, bank robbery

Bank robbery

Bank robbery is the crime of stealing from a bank during opening hours. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, robbery is "the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of...

and drug trafficking. Jerothe earned a reputation in mob circles from his swiftness during bank robberies and skills at seducing women. While performing hijackings he would keep a snub-nose pistol, usually a .38 Smith and Wesson in the rear pocket of his pants, or taped to his leg like undercover policemen. Jerothe thought up the idea to regularly use Smith & Wesson manufactured handcuffs because they were the same ones used by the New York Police Department (NYPD) which would allow handcuffed truck drivers to be released quickly. When not committing burglaries and hijacking transports Jerothe and Thomas DeSimone

Thomas DeSimone

would go streaking together, when it was at the height of its craze, running down Lefferts Boulevard high on cocaine

Cocaine

Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...

and race around the streets in Sal Polisi’s go carts. Ronald was shot point blank range in the face by Thomas DeSimone as he answered the door of his Ozone Park, Queens New York apartment. Jerothe's sister had been dating Tommy DeSimone. Following a break-up, Tommy had assaulted Jerothe's sister, provoking Jerothe to threaten to murder DeSimone. DeSimone heard of the threat and went to visit Foxy. As soon as Jerothe opened the house door, he punched DeSimone between the eyes. DeSimone revealed a .38 caliber pistol and shot Jerothe three times, twice in the head.

Despite the fact that the Gotti brothers were angry over Jerothe's drug skimming, they were willing to exact revenge as a matter of principle because DeSimone had murdered a Gambino member without permission. Mainly though, DeSimone, in 1970, had killed William 'Billy Batts' DeVino

William Devino

William "Billy Batts" Devino was a New York mobster with the Gambino crime family who was a longtime friend of John Gotti in the 1960s...

, a more powerful made member of the Gambino crime family.

After getting permission from DeSimone's capo, Paul Vario

Paul Vario

Paul Vario was a caporegime of a crew in the Lucchese crime family. In the 1970s Vario held the position of consigliere in the family but later resigned. In 1980, longtime associate Henry Hill became a government witness and testified against Vario and members of his crew...

, to murder DeSimone, Gotti dispatched Thomas Agro

Thomas Agro

Thomas Agro , also known as "Tommy A", "T.A.", "Tipp", and "Thomas Ambrosiano", was a New York gangster with the Gambino crime family who ran lucrative bookmaking and gambling operations in Florida.-Background:...

to kill him. DeSimone was lured to Agro under the pretense of becoming a made man

Made man

A made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...

. On January 14, 1979 DeSimone disappeared. Agro had murdered him and allegedly thrown his body, weighted down, into the sea. Thomas Agro was also responsible for killing Thomas's older brother Anthony several years earlier, and had plans to kill his brother Robert in 1985 before he was incarcerated.

Further reading