Ronald Jerothe

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John Ronald Gerote a.k.a. Ronald Jerothe a.k.a. Foxy (May 24, 1947^[1] - December 18, 1974) was the protege of infamous mafia don John Gotti. Jerothe was killed in 1974 by Lucchese crime family associate Thomas "Two-Gun Tommy" DeSimone over a dispute involving Jerothe's sister.

Ronald "Foxy" Gerote was a member of the Bergin Crew, who operated out of John Gotti's club, the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club, in Ozone Park, Queens. Jerothe's primary racket was hijacking. He was a half-Italian associate of the Gambino crime family from 1962 to 1970 and protégé of John Gotti and bodyguard of Aniello Dellacroce. He was also a close friend of Salvatore Polisi and Thomas DeSimone. Ronald was a “stick up man” involved in hijacking, bank robbery and drug trafficking. Foxy 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. Ronald thought up the idea to regularly use Smith & Wesson manufactured handcuffs because they were the same ones used by the NYPD which would allow handcuffed truck drivers to be released quickly. When not committing burglaries and hijacking transports Ronald and Thomas DeSimone would go streaking together, when it was at the height of its craze, running down Lefferts Boulevard high on cocaine 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. In addition, DeSimone, in 1970, had killed William 'Billy Batts' DeVino, another made member of the Gambino crime family.

After getting permission from DeSimone's capo, Paul Vario, to murder DeSimone, Gotti dispatched Thomas Agro to kill him. DeSimone was lured to Agro under the pretense of becoming a made man. On January 14th, 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 several years earlier Anthony DeSimone and had plans to kill his brother Robert DeSimone in 1985 before he was incarcerated.

[edit] Popular Culture

Actor Mark Belasco is to play Foxy in the film The Sinatra Club, a mafia heist film set in 1972.

[edit] References

• Russo, Gus, and Hill, Henry, Gangsters and Goodfellas: Wiseguys . . . and Life on the Run Mainstream Publishing (August 9, 2005) ISBN 1840188812
• Mustain, Gene and Capeci, Jerry, Mob Star: The Story of John Gotti Alpha; New Ed edition (July 3, 2002) ISBN 0028644166
• Ianuzzi, Joseph, Joe Dogs: The Life and Crimes of a Mobster Simon & Schuster (June 1993) ISBN 0671797522
• Volkman, Ernest and Cummings, John Mobster"