BREAKING NEWS: Gemini Twin No. 2, Joey Testa, Back Home In NYC With The Lucchese Mob, Cut Loose From Feds

May 1, 2024 — Lucchese crime family soldier Joey Testa is free as a bird, released from federal prison on Tuesday morning after three and a half decades inside for racketeering, drugs and multiple gangland homicides. He’s 69. Back in December, Testa’s best pal and fellow Lucchese button man, Anthony Senter, 68, was released to a halfway house. Testa isn’t required to do any time in a halfway house and is off restrictions.

Both Testa and Senter were paroled from their life sentences, grandfathered into a federal parole system that ceased to exist shortly after their incarcerations in 1989. Where the pair will fit into Lucchese mob affairs today, if at all, still remains to be seen, according to sources, although these sources say Testa and Senter are each in the good graces of Lucchese organization leaders.

As young, aspiring Goodfellas, Testa and Senter were dubbed the “Gemini Twins” because of their always being seen side-by-side and being part of the ultra-violent Gambino mob’s Gemini Lounge crew of the 1970s and first portion of the 1980s. The Gemini Lounge crew was overseen by sociopath Brooklyn Gambino mafia chief Roy DeMeo. Later in the decade, Testa and Senter were inducted into the Lucchese crime family. The Gemini Twins and the Gemini Lounge crew as a whole were implicated in literally dozens and possibly hundreds of executions and convicted of several of them in federal court.

Testa and Senter began as teenage gofers for DeMeo’s surrogate son, Harvey (Chris DeMeo) Rosenberg. They ended up being involved in both the DeMeo and Rosenberg killings and tons of money-making rackets involving international car theft rings, bookmaking, juice loans and pricey murder for hire contracts. Although parole was abolished from the federal prison system long ago, if your case was filed prior to 1987, which Testa and Senter’s were, you remain eligible via a grandfather clause. That clause was their saving grace despite the objections from their victims’ families.

Rosenberg was slain in May 1979 in the wake of a quadruple homicide related to a drug-deal-gone-bad with a Cuban cocaine cell out of Miami. The Cubans blamed Rosenberg and the Gambinos instructed DeMeo to kill him to satisfy the Cubans demands, not wanting a drug war with the Cocaine Cowboys in South Florida spilling onto the streets of Brooklyn. DeMeo reportedly stunned Rosenberg by shooting him in the neck as he sat down for their crew’s weekly Sunday night dinner and meeting at the Gemini Lounge. Senter is alleged to have delivered the kill shot to the back of Rosenberg’s head.

DeMeo’s body was found in the trunk of his Cadillac in the parking lot of a Sheepshead boat club in January 1983. Per court testimony and FBI intelligence reports, Testa and Senter shot DeMeo to death at a property owned by Testa’s brother Patty on orders of the Gambino brass via a contract accepted by Lucchese leaders in return for the Lucchese’s receiving DeMeo’s territory and the rights to the Gemini Twins for any future dealings.

The moniker Gemini Twins was never used while they were active, it wasn't until Murder Machine was published that, that name was used in reference to them. From what I understand, Joseph Testa has numerous siblings and a large family in New York and Anthony Senter is going to Vegas with his wife.
Harvey "Chris" Rosenberg was introduced to Roy DeMeo by longtime gangland associate Danny Grillo in 1966, after Roy began recruiting talent for his burgeoning auto theft operation. Chris brought in Senter and Testa whom he knew from the neighborhood but lived in a different part of Canarsie. The actual ambush of the Cuban drug dealers was at Senter's basement, a few houses down from Testa's and behind Henry Borelli's home. Nino instructed Roy DeMeo to whack Rosenberg which he did shooting him in the head, dropping him to one knee. Senter then putting several bullets behind Rosenberg's ear. Rosenberg's body was placed in his car, machine gunned, and left the center divider on Flatbush Ave, just before Marine Parkway and Marine Park Bridge.
I think Roy DeMeo was murdered at Patty Testa's auto shop by Nino Gaggi, Testa, Senter, and possibly Henry Borelli, according to FBI agent Art Ruffles. In Murder Machine, Roy left his personal effects at home, indicating knowledge of what was waiting for him, when he was summoned to the sit down. Testa and Senter were required to put a bullet in Roy's head to ceremoniously end their business with him and start fresh with the Lucheese's under Frank Lastorino. Lastorino had a business around the corner from Patty Testa's auto shop and was suspected of murdering Patty Testa on orders from Gaspipe Casso years later. None of Roy's rackets were absorbed by the Lucchese's. The Empire Blvd auto theft operation was blown up by the Feds after vehicles with faked VIN number plates were discovered at the port of Newark and his loanshark book was kept by Albert. Roy had a huge port and sex trade operation in Times Square, where he had an office on the eigth floor of Sex World, he shared with porn mogul Richard Basciano.

Joseph Testa is the one going to Vegas with his wife.

Put back in action? Not so sure about that. Out of jail would be more accurate, but once again, no clear indication that he's 'back in action'.

I don't think Testa or Senter would come back to Luccheses. They are too old and for sure doesnt want to turn back in jail.

You have wonder if anyone might be harboring beef with either of them after all these years. I mean if someone murdered one of my brothers, chopped them up, put them into trash and dumped them at The Fountain Ave dump. I'd be seriously passed, and at a minimum would require a face to face beat down. I'm just saying, I dgaf.

I wrote to him and Senter in jail and few other Mob guys

My buddy Quentin has written to Joey, Anthony and Henry but no responses. Joey and Anthony are hard-core omerta and I don't see them talking but nowadays you never know. Someone like Vlad throws enough money at them and the next thing you know Scorsese's putting out a movie starring Leonardo DeCaprio as Joey Testa.

Do you reckon they’ve seen our letters? I thought the Correction Officers had opened them and put the letters into the bin. I asked for a photo or autograph to hang on my wall and I said I would pay their commissary. Oh well.

There are tons of guys listed on the BB thread “Mafia charts” I bet some of the imprisoned Soldiers would reply back.. and the cool thing in the future some of them may make Captain.

I think the BoP notifies them of mail they received and gives them the choice to read or discard as they choose. There are some acquaintances of theirs that might be willing to reach out to them after they've settled into civilian life

CNote, perhaps DeNiro can play both Gemini twins

I almost spit wine out my nose I laughed so hard at this. Nicely done.

I dont think they should have been released. The numerous murders and body-chop-ups they took part in mean ther crimes are too grave to forgive.
I DONT believe they will be going back to the Mob though.
Live out their remaining years quietly if they have any sense which is something their many victims had taken from them.....

Who was worse though and more sadistic? Joey or Anthony?

What is the worst murder Joey ever did? Did he ever cut someones head off personally?

That Borelli guy really got screwed by the system.
Wasn't his murder conviction quashed?

And then he sees these 2 getting out , no restrictions.

* sees is an actual word. I had to check first, though.

Wasnt Borelli actually convicted over Auto theft???

Sorry to interrupt but who here can tell me who was more sadistic? Joey or Anthony?

If he wanted to leave his family some money, he'd write a book....I would think though that the G would have warned him, because it would make them look horrible, releasing this guy !!!

Lol, you put out some entertaining content Rush, and I appreciate it. These guys weren't sadists, they could be crue,l and they followed the code of the streets. Rule number is you have to be mean, you have to be able to smash pitiful people in the face as hard you can with bad intentions, because if you don't, someone will do it you, botton line. On top of that, they were connected with one of the most violent persons in the history of organized crime in America., fuggedaboutit.

You ever receive any replies?

Back in the 90s I wrote to John Gotti in prison, I wasn’t sure how the process worked so I put in a Self address stamped envelope so he could write back.
the prison sent me a letter saying I was not allowed to send stamps as they are basically money, they had a list of things you cannot send, plant shavings, body hair, and other things, I never understood the body hair, but that was on the letter.
And in the end the letter it said that my letter had been forwarded onto the inmate. So I know he received my letter, but I didn’t expect the response, especially back in the early 90s. He was still getting a lot of mail from what I hear.
I also wrote to Henry Hill after watching Goodfellas, sent it to the US Marshall service and witness protection, they sent it back with the letter saying that he had already left the witness protection program and they did not have a forwarding address for him.
I think I wrote other letters at the time, it’s been many decades ago, I don’t remember.
But that was back when I was first getting my interest in the whole mob genre.

No I didn’t. I wrote to Crea, Basciano, Senter & Testa like I said I was gonna pay their commissary maybe 200 worth or near per person. But sadly no.

However prison letters aside, I spoke to SF once thru Greg his minder and I was given the hospital number 2 or 3 months before he died.

I “spoke” to Henry Hill once when I was advertising for Vinny Vella when he was doing his radio show I think it was around 2011.

And Danny Provenzano he said he was gonna send people to hurt me then I was gonna help him with his fight club... allegedly lol..

Of course I’ve been in touch with MF who hasn’t?

Bill Cutolo Jr too.