Faustino "Doc" Santoro (killed September 2007) was boss of the Lupertazzi crime family in 2007, succeeding Johnny Sacrimoni and preceding Phil Leotardo. He was killed when Leotardo seized back control of the family.
Biography[]
Faustino Santoro was born in New York City, New York to a family of Italian descent, and he bbecame known as a traditionalist "Mustache Pete" in the Lupertazzi crime family of the American Mafia. Santoro led his own crew in the family before Johnny Sacrimoni's death in 2007, upon which he became acting boss. Santoro decided to make his position permanent, and he whacked likely successor Gerry Torciano after seeing that the news considered him to be the top choice for the next boss. During a sitdown over a union dispute with DiLeo Construction in an Italian restaurant, Santoro took food from Phil Leotardo's plate, even as Leotardo acknowledged Santoro as head of the family. Leotardo felt humiliated, and he decided to have Santoro whacked.
Death[]
The Santoro murder scene
Leotardo's right-hand man Butch DeConcini was responsible for planning the hit on Santoro. As Santoro and a bodyguard left a massage parlor in Chinatown, Manhattan, gunmen opened fire on them, and Santoro was shot in the torso and the right eye, and then his dead body lied in the floor, next to his bodyguard's. DeConcini drove away with the assassins in his car, and Santoro's body was spotted by three passers-by, who shrieked in terror. Santoro's death was a part of Leotardo's plot to regain control over the family, as well as to avenge Torciano's death and the humiliation done to Leotardo by Santoro.