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Co-Owner Of L&B Spumoni Gardens Pizzeria Louis Barbati Killed In Mob-Style Hit

By John Houck
Published on: 09:06 PST, Jul 1, 2016

Co-owner of the infamous L&B Spumoni Gardens pizzeria was murdered on Thursday at his Brooklyn, New York, home. In what some are calling a mafia-style hit, Louis Barbati was shot twice in the back by an unknown gunman while standing outside.

The 61-year-old restaurateur was in the backyard of his residence on 12th Avenue in Dyker Heights around 7 p.m. His wife, another woman, and his two sons were also home when the hit man opened fire. His lifeless body was found slumped near the door.

As reported by Fox News, Barbati was holding a plastic bag with $10,000 inside in one hand and a loaf of bread in the other. While no definite motive has been confirmed, investigators believe it was an assassination and not a robbery, as the gunman left the money behind.

Witnesses say a white male in his 30s wearing a black hoodie ran from the scene just after the gunshots rang out. Barbati’s wife told police that her husband brought home bundles of cash at least six times a year.

“I ran up and he was face-down on the stairs,” said a neighbor who came to help. “I saw blood on the stairs and blood on his back.”

Barbati’s grandfather, Ludovico Barbati, emigrated to the U.S. from Totella Di Lobardi, Italy, in 1917. He began selling various pizza products throughout the streets of Brooklyn from a horse-pulled wagon. In 1939, he opened a small shop on 86th Street that served spumoni, a popular Italian ice cream treat.

The current restaurant was opened in the 1950s and is best known for its Sicilian pizza and Italian ices. The pizzeria is one of the most popular eateries in the city and was featured on an episode of the Food Network show Man v. Food.

“It’s a family tragedy, we can’t speak right now,” an upset manager at the restaurant said Thursday.

According to testimony related to a 2012 extortion case, a mob war broke out over the pizzeria’s “gravy” recipe. Three years earlier, notorious Colombo crime family member Frank Guerra accused rival Bonanno family associate Eugene Lombardo of stealing the sauce recipe.

At the time, Lombardo’s two sons worked at L&B Spumoni Gardens. Guerra believed the pair took the recipe and started using it at a new restaurant in Staten Island.

Statements provided by Colombo mafia boss Anthony Russo indicated Guerra was furious when he found out about the theft and went to confront Lombardo. Many involved thought the conflict would turn violent, but instead they decided to sit and discuss the matter.

During the meeting, representatives of the Colombo family demanded a share in L&B as well as a $75,000 cash payment. Ultimately, Lombardo paid $4,000 with Guerra receiving half of it.

Guerra, whose ex-wife was also part-owner of L&B, was ultimately acquitted of the extortion and murder charges in the 2012 case. However, he was later sentenced to prison on drug-related crimes.

The neighborhood where Barbati was shot is usually quiet and many were shocked by the horrific event.

“His wife was screaming, ‘I need help, someone shot my husband.’ She was behind him holding his body,” said neighbor Imran Arshad. “I used to see him every day. He never had any trouble with anybody.”

Friday morning, investigators were searching a white Lexus parked in front of a fire hydrant just down the street from Barbati’s two-story house. Police found two bullet holes in a fence that runs alongside the home. They are also asking residents for any possible video footage.

So far, no arrests have been made in the shooting death of L&B Spumoni Gardens owner Louis Barbati. According to the NYPD, no murders have occurred in the Dyker Heights’s 68th Precinct since late 2014.

[Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]

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