No mobster-related story has haunted me more than the tale of John Gotti’s neighbor who was murdered after he accidentally ran over Gotti’s 12 year old son. Briefly blinded by the sunlight, John Favara, hit the boy who was riding a minibike.
The New York Daily News reports that a witness in a new racketeering trial gave some of the background on what happened: “Favara was forced into a van, sources said, and shot in the legs. He was taken to another location in Brooklyn where he was killed and stuffed into a 55-gallon drum, sources said.”
I don’t know why this story creeps me out so much. I guess it’s the there-but-for-the-grace-of-God-go-I aspect. Forget to put down your sun viser, lose site of the road for a fraction of a second and you could end up dissolving in a vat of acid. Not sure there’s a big, spiritual life lesson there. Just drive carefully.