A horrific 1994 murder – witnessed by dozens of people who kept their mouths shut – was solved last week, when a reputed mobster was convicted of the killing of Louis Balancio.
The conviction of Anthony DiSimone “is the culmination of [a] fight for justice,” said Westchester District Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
Balancio, a Yonkers college student who did volunteer work for the poor, was murdered outside of the now-closed Strike Zone Bar in Yonkers on Feb. 4, 1994, stabbed 13 times in front of over 30 witnesses.
“No one came forward,” Pirro said.
Investigators said the killing was spurred by “a beef over a beef” between the 21-year-old and DiSimone, a reputed member of the Luchese crime family.
Investigators said DiSimone, 33, had help from other Luchese crime-family members in trying to get away with murder – they silenced witnesses and hid DiSimone’s bloody clothing.
It turned out, however, they hid the clothing in the wrong place at the wrong time – a White Castle restaurant in The Bronx where an FBI agent was eating his lunch.
The agent got suspicious when he spotted someone tossing two bags in a Dumpster outside, and when he went to investigate, he found the damning evidence inside.
DNA tests later linked the clothes to both Balancio and DiSimone, who spent the next five years evading police. He finally turned himself in to investigators last year.
DiSimone was convicted Wednesday of depraved indifference murder and tampering with physical evidence. He faces a maximum of 25 years to life in prison when he’s sentenced on Jan. 12.