Gerard Pappa

In July 1980 Pappa was shot to death in the Villa Sixty-Six Restaurant on Fourteenth Avenue and 66th Street in Brooklyn by a Colombo hit squad, revenge for Pappa murdering Colombo crime family caporegime Thomas "Shorty" Spero, the uncle of Angelo Sepe. He was murdered by Dominick Cataldo and his nephews Nicholas and Joseph Cataldo Jr., the sons of Colombo crime family mafioso Joseph Cataldo. They were hiding in the luncheonette's rear kitchen when he arrived. They approached him from behind and shot him in the head with a sawed-off shotgun. He was killed instantly. Genovese crime family boss Vincent Gigante was suspected of ordering Pappa's murder, but was acquitted of his alleged involvement in the murder in 1997.

In the early 1960s, during the Profaci-Gallo civil war in the Colombo crime family had an encounter with Pappa, Sammy Gravano, James 'Jimmy' Emma, Joe Vitale, Tommy Snake and Lenny the Mole including a bunch of other gang members. They were hanging around in a bar at 79th Street and New Utrecht Avenue in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, along with several Gallo loyalists. They were a lot older than the Rampers and had an outstanding argument with member James Emma. They were heavily armed so Pappa and the others loaded up with firearms and headed back to the bar. Gravano later recounted the gun battle in his autobiography,

Gerard Pappa, also known as "Gerry" and "Pappa Bear" (c. June 19, 1944, Bensonhurst, Brooklyn – July 10, 1980, Borough Park, Brooklyn), was a soldier in the Genovese crime family. Known as a hitman and a major narcotics dealer, Pappa was widely feared for his violent tendencies, which directly contributed to his own murder in 1980.