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This article tells the story of Anthony Senter and Joey Testa – known as the “Gemini Twins” – two of the most brutal hitmen in the infamous Roy DeMeo crew, who may have been involved in as many as 200 murders. The content is based on court records, memoirs, and historical sources. This article is for educational purposes only, not to glorify violence or advocate for crime.
Anthony Senter and Joey Testa: The ‘Gemini Twins’ – The Most Murderous Mobsters in the Infamous DeMeo Crew
Gemini Twins Joey Testa And Anthony Senter
Growing up together on the streets of Brooklyn, Anthony Senter and Joey Testa were childhood friends who became immersed in the criminal underworld as teenagers. Together, they rose to become the most feared killers in Roy DeMeo’s crew – an organization so brutal that even other mobsters were terrified. Because they were always seen together at the Gemini Lounge, Senter and Testa became known as the “Gemini Twins.” They were not just best friends; they were a perfect killing machine.
1. From Troubled Kids to Mafia Hitmen
Anthony Senter was born in June 1955, Joey Testa in April of the same year. Both grew up in Brooklyn in Italian immigrant families. From a young age, they caused trouble, got into fights, and stole cars. By age 15, Senter had reportedly been convicted of vehicle theft three times. It was precisely these skills that brought them to the attention of Roy DeMeo, a capo in the Gambino crime family.
Anthony Senter And Joseph Testa With The Demeo Crew
Initially, Senter and Testa were only supposed to steal cars. But Roy DeMeo quickly realized that the two young men could be far more useful. They became the core of his crew, and like their boss, they earned a reputation for extreme violence.
2. The “Gemini Method” and Mass Murder
The DeMeo crew perfected the art of killing into a production-line process known as the “Gemini Method.” The victim would be lured through a side door of the Gemini Lounge into a small apartment. Someone waiting inside would shoot the victim in the head at point-blank range, immediately wrap a towel around the wound to prevent blood from spilling onto the floor. A second person would stab the victim in the heart to stop the blood flow. The body would then be dragged to the bathroom, drained of blood, dismembered, placed into plastic bags, packed into boxes, and dumped at a busy landfill where they would never be found. Anthony Senter and Joey Testa are believed to have participated in dozens of such murders.
Roy DeMeo
Their first victim under DeMeo’s orders was allegedly Andrei Katz, an auto repair shop owner, on June 13, 1975. Katz was abducted, taken to the meat department of a grocery store, stabbed in the heart, and dismembered. In 1977, Senter and Testa reportedly killed a woman named Cherie Golden after her boyfriend became an informant. That same year, they allegedly murdered 23-year-old Jerome Hofaker after he got into a fight with one of Testa’s brothers.
Their most notable victims were Charles Mongitore and Daniel Scutaro, employees at a Brooklyn auto shop. The DeMeo crew was after Mongitore because he was pressing charges against the son of a Gambino soldier. In June 1980, Senter, Testa, and several other men showed up at Mongitore’s workplace, shot him 14 times, and slit his throat. When Scutaro walked in while they were cleaning up their mess, they killed him, too.
3. The Assassination of Roy DeMeo
Anthony Senter And Joseph Testa’s Hangout Gemini Lounge
In April 1979, Roy DeMeo chased down and killed an 18-year-old vacuum cleaner salesman named Dominick Ragucci after mistaking him for a Cuban hitman. That incident marked the beginning of the end for DeMeo. His fellow Gambino mobsters decided he could no longer be trusted – his paranoia made him too much of a liability.
On January 10, 1983, DeMeo met up with several of his men at Patrick Testa’s (Joey’s brother) body shop in Brooklyn. He never returned home. Ten days later, his body was found in the trunk of his Cadillac, abandoned in a boat club parking lot. He had been shot in the head multiple times, including once behind both ears – which was allegedly a signature method of the Gemini Twins.
According to Lucchese boss Anthony “Gaspipe” Casso, Gambino boss Paul Castellano wanted DeMeo dead, and Casso made a deal with Senter and Testa. It was Senter and Testa themselves who opened fire when DeMeo sat down at Patrick Testa’s shop that day.
4. Arrest, Conviction, and Unexpected Release
Dominick Ragucci
By the mid-1980s, federal investigators began cracking down on the Gambino family. They traced at least 75 deaths and disappearances to the DeMeo crew. Some believe the actual number could be as high as 200. At the time, Rudy Giuliani was the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and he was working the cases against Senter and Testa.
Giuliani said of Anthony Senter: “He was a stone-cold killer who liked to kill. And I believe he liked to participate in some ways in the dismemberment of the bodies that took place afterwards.”
Senter and Testa were convicted of racketeering and 10 counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison. But after 35 years behind bars, both men were granted parole.
Joey Testa was paroled in April 2024. Anthony Senter was released in June 2024. The reasons cited: Testa had “serious medical problems,” and Senter was 68 years old. But the victims’ families were outraged. Denise Hofaker, the cousin of Jerome Hofaker (murdered in 1977), said: “He is 68. That’s not a life. He has an awful lot of life to live, and that’s not right.”
5. The Mystery Behind Their Release
Paul Castellano
There are rumors that Senter and Testa may be cooperating with authorities. A former Gemini Lounge patron speculated: “There’s a rumor going around that when those guys get out, they’ll spill the beans. They know where a lot of bodies are buried. There is no reason for them to be let out unless they’ve been cooperating with someone.”
Joseph Testa With Anthony Senter
So far, neither man has revealed new information about their crimes. But the question remains. Did the government trade freedom for information? Or did the American justice system simply fail to keep mass murderers behind bars?
Nephew Of Joey Testa
Anthony Senter and Joey Testa – the “Gemini Twins” – are believed to have been involved in as many as 200 murders, possibly even more than their boss Roy DeMeo. They were the coldest, most brutal killing machines in an already infamous crew. They were sentenced to life in prison, but somehow, after 35 years, they were set free. The victims’ families are living in shock and outrage. And the secrets of hundreds of deaths remain buried – waiting to be uncovered. Will the “Gemini Twins” truly become the “Kennedys of Cosa Nostra,” as Testa’s nephew claims? Or are they simply monsters who escaped their cage? The answer lies ahead.
Primary Sources:
All That’s Interesting, “Gemini Twins: Anthony Senter And Joey Testa, The DeMeo Crew’s Deadliest Hitmen”
Albert DeMeo, “For the Sins of My Father”
New York Post, 2023 coverage
U.S. District Court records, Southern District of New York
Testimony of Anthony “Gaspipe” Casso