Oct. 26, 2012 Staff Report
Lou Rispoli, the victim of the brutal beating on 43rd Avenue last Saturday, passed away last night at around 9pm.
He was surrounded by his loved ones.
The family urge people with information to come forward.
The New York City Police Department, the Mayor’s Office and Crime Stoppers are now offering a reward in the amount of $22,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible. Witnesses should call the Crime Stoppers Hotline at (800) 577-TIPS.
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Now I just read that he did not get out of a car with these three perpetrators, that they got out and went after him. Which is it? This story needs to be kept in the news to shake people up so somebody talks.
I would hire a private investigator if it were my relative.
Skillmanite, I had the same thought. The 108th should have been canvassing restaurants, bars, whatever, from the getgo and showing the victim’s photo. Since tonight’s meeting of the 108th police council has been cancelled, I am afraid they will lose interest in solving this crime. You are right: they do not like interviewing potential witnesses – too much time to Mirandize them.
Unfortunately ( unless the crime takes place in central park) the days of good old detective work are a thing of the past. Video killed the radio star and security cameras have bred a generation of lazy detectives who if they can’t find an instant picture of a suspect will quickly move onto the next case. It’s much easier to sit in a nice warm room, checking out security cameras, with a selection of donuts at your disposal than have to bang on doors and dig for leads. Looks like the storm might be an excuse for the 108 to avoid a lot of embarrassing questions tomorrow night. Poor old Colombo would turn in his grave
@mike @44th street. I will update with date and info. Thanks for supporting the idea. I really want to get the support of the community to make this happen.
Please be safe during the hurricane!
I am a resident of 4100 43rd Avenue. I live on the 43rd Avenue side and nobody and I mean NOBODY has come to talk to me. The NYPD have not attempted to contact me, have not left a note, nothing. A tenant put a note up in the elevator asking people to contact management demanding that they install security cameras. That sign was torn down (by management, I’m sure) and there are no flyers regarding the crime in this building. The police were out front all evening last Sunday doing what, exactly? Any evidence of the crime would have been long gone. According to what I am reading in the comments, it sounds like they threw the victim into the ambulance and everyone took off and didn’t bother actually investigating anything that night. This can’t possibly be police protocol. If there were so many cops there at the scene as stated by one commentor, then they can’t claim they were understaffed. What is going on?!?!
The police lost a lot of time waiting for this to be upgraded to homicide. I sure hope they are in restaurants and bars showing the victim’s photo and looking at the security cameras – provided that the owners have not already taped over last week’s film. If it were my relative I would hire a private investigator but this reflects my impatience with the 108th.
@4100 resident as far as I know this crime happened sat nite/sun morning oct 20/21 so when were the cops interviewing people???. It s a total disgrace the way this case s being handled by the 108
The posters seeking info/tips were posted by Jimmy van Bramer’s office, not the NYPD. Kudos to JVB’s office for trying to help in any way possible.
A NYPD detective knocked on every door in the building Saturday afternoon, and a representative from JVB’s office knocked on every door, passing out flyers in English and Spanish, on Thursday afternoon.
If this tragic event had happened in summer, we all would have heard. At 3am with the windows closed, we heard nothing and were unaware of what had happened until the detective showed up the next day.
I saw a flyer at Met Grocery but there was no pic attached. No one knows what the victim looks like. I heard of this attack becos I’m frequently check this website. Most ppl dont know this website exists and hence have no idea such a horrible crime happened here.
We need more flyers with his picture all over sunnyside, especially at the subway entrance. Every person who enters the subway should see it.
Please consult a psychic for clues as to who did this, where they are and any other info on the attack. Councilman Van Bramer, please consult a psychic – they can help the police. Trust me.
I would find a psychic, if I ever lost a loved one.
Peace
Mg please update us with information. I would love to be part of this as i have lived in sunnyside for 24 years. Its a shame that something like this could and did happen in our sunnyside.
There are now signs all over 43rd street. Why wasnt this done sooner?
I didn’t know Mr. Rispoli, but, after reading about him, my life would have certainly been richer had I known him.
Condolences to his friends and family.
Rick
@mg that is a great idea. please keep us posted.
The only information on this horrible and sad crime is what I’ve seen here on this website. I have seen no information in the neighborhood; no signs, no flyers, no canvassing on foot, nothing.
I respectfully suggest that the community come together to encourage action by and for the community in the form of a candlelight vigil or silent walk to commemorate this man’s life and stand together against any unsolved crimes. Let us take this time to unify, grieve, and communicate visibly that We The Community will NOT tolerate violence and crime.
I did not know this man nor his family, but believe there is strength in numbers. Let us stand together quietly but visibly in the name of peace, safety and community.
Let us join together to show our outrage for this and other crimes by coming together and showing our compassion for the victims of crime and their families. Let us unify as a community. Let us recognize that we have a government by, for and of the community. It’s not enough to wait for others to do their jobs. Let US come together and be a part of the solution we want and participate in the community in which we live. Let us take our sadness, anger, rage, frustration and turn it into a peaceful demonstration of solidarity against this and other crimes and in support of our desire to live well and without fear as a community.
I respectfully suggest we come together Saturday, November 3 as a community and walk down Skillman Avenue as a community. A community that is varied and diverse in many ways, but unified in our desire to live safely together.
Next Saturday November 3 let us walk together as one community – home owners and renters, longtime and new residents, young and old, friends and neighbors, families and individuals – unified for Sunnyside.
I will contact the Councilman’s office to see if we can coordinate with local officials to have an organized and peaceful walk as a community united.
its a shame the 108 r so worried about there little snitches in the area, otherwise instead of letting them away with everything,and arresting them. they might actually give up a name
According to the 108th’s website, the community meeting is held the last Tuesday of every month at Sunnyside Community Services, 43-31 39th Street at 7pm. That means the meeting is scheduled for this coming Tuesday (assuming the impending storm does not disrupt it). I think we all need to show up and put the 108th on notice that we know they have not acted fast enough or aggressively enough to solve this murder.
The 108 is dysfunctional and insensitive. A responsible detective would have knocked every door in that building and the surrounding ones that very night.
All open bars and businesses within a one mile radius would have been notified with a picture of this man and the detective’s number. And a local news conference will have been held within 24 hours by the precint not JVB.
They fumbled this case bigtime!
Yes I heard it was on ny1 today. That’s 6 days later. U gotta b kidding me. Why wasn’t it on the news last sun or mon???theres a lot of questions that need to answered by the 108!!!
please post any memorial service details. I’m sure there are many people who did not know Lou, like me, who will want to attend if a public memorial is planned. this is so extremely sad.
what is wrong with the NYPD? there is amazing dysfunction in their ranks. I truly hope Van Bramer is successful in his efforts to solve this crime, as it seems he personally knew Lou.
my heart goes out to Lou’s family and his many friends. I am so sorry.
may he rest in peace…my heart goes out to those he left behind…
This tragedy has been haunting me ever since i heard about it. My heart is broken that this poor man was so brutally attacked for no reason than for most likely for being who he is, and his family and friends are suffering. I first learned of it when I went to pick up my baby from friends who were watching her in 41-00 last Sunday evening. Actually, when we dropped her off, as I came out of the building, there was yellow crime scene tape that had not been there when my husband and I entered the building. Then as we tried to exit, we were asked if we lived in the building and when we said no, were accused of interfering with a crime scene ( I had to break it down to them). A resident of the building told me that they were investigating and incident from “the other night”. When we went to pick my daughter up, there was a csu truck there. It all seemed so bizarre at the time, especially that demeanor of the csu “team” they just seemed like keystone cops or something…like there was no organization or sense of urgency. Anyway, as it has unfolded it got darker and as others have noted there is in my opinion a huge disconnect between what happened and the police’s response (or lack of) to it. I actually live in a building across the street from where the attack occurred, but not on the 43rd avenue side. I am sure that if I did live on that side I would have heard something and jumped to the window to see. So my question about this investigation is why have the police not made efforts to question people in the surrounding buildings to see if they witnessed anything? To my knowledge, no one in my building has been questioned and no fliers have been posted here or in the grocery across the street.
Friend – thank you for sharing that e-mail. Those words are so powerful and validate what everyone is saying about Mr. Risoli’s caring personality. If his loved ones read this, I want them to know that his words continue to help. His own words are so fitting here – we all must rage that this has happened.
i hope to god, yhey catch these cowards fast, thats what they r is gutless cowards. id love to see them rot in a cell the re st of there miserable lives
It was on New York One. But why did the police not do an investigation faster. The creeps who did this could be in another state by now although I have a feeling they do not live very far from here.
It really looks like the 108 did a disgraceful job on investigating this case. Media needs to get involved and find out why they responded this way.Does anyone know if it was on channel 1,2,4 or 7 news???
Did not know Lou Rispoli, saw him on few occasions. But after reading Lucky Lu’s comments made me sad, AND MAD. Trying to remember when is the last time I saw a cop on the beat, and basic procedures in an attack on someone should have been followed. Maybe, Com. Kelly should investigate the 108 and have a (chat) with the captain of the 108th.
I personally hav not seen a single flyer with the victims pic or info in any bar,restaurant , store or on any street light poles in Sunnyside. I only found out about it on Sunnyside post and then saw a small article in yesterday’s newspaper about it.
Lucky Lu makes great points. The police should have canvassed the area ASAP. Do they know where he was in the missing two hours? Why did he arrive home in a car? Have they shown the victim’s photo in bars and restaurants and asked to see the security tapes? A truly terrible crime has occurred and we need arrests. Now.
Thank you, Lucky Lu, for that information, and for passing it on to the 108 precinct and councilman Van Bramer. Based on your information, it’s clear that more has to be done to get the word out.
In addition to obtaining any potential information at the location of where Lou was found, the search should be expanded to Sunnyside in general. Did anyone see Lou in Sunnyside from about midnight to around 2:15 am one week ago? Did anyone see a car (which may or may not be white and may or may not be an SUV) containing several men in Sunnyside during that time period? Does anyone in Sunnyside have a video surveillance camera that may have captured relevant information? Please check. Please ask your friends and neighbors in Sunnyside to also check.
If you have any information that can be potentially relevant, please contact the 108. We want justice for Lou.
From Lucky Lu’s account, it seems the cops dropped the ball on this. Let’s hope they can recover it.
This happening in our neigherhood is totally unacceptable. May he rest in peace and b in a better place.108 better get this solved very quickly r they are going to hav a lot of pressure on them.why can’t people just go on their way and mind their own bussines? This s despicable. I hav lots of gay friends and they are wonderful people. Their sexual preference makes absolutely no difference. I’m sorry people hav sed this s NOT a hate crime. It def looks like a hate crime to me. Btw who saw him in the car with the 3 guys??? Hopefully u hav gone to the cops and told them that. Not sure I believe that he was ever in the car. Mr Bramer will get to the bottom of this please God. Also we hav to fight to get more cops in our area. Too much crime going on lately in OUR Sunnyside .
@ Lucky Lu
One more thing, thank you for the suggestion, I will write to the 108 and let them know how disappointed I am with the execution and progress of this investigation.
Best.
@ Lucky Lu
That is so upsetting. I hope you have passed along this information to the police or Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer. If not, please do. Here is a link.
http://jimmyvanbramer.com/contact
The space between when Lou’s assault took place and when the police began an investigation in earnest is a concern. If you haven’t already, I hope you do share.
Best.
I too am extremely concerned that the NYPD has not been aggressively working to solve this horrendous crime. The victim was on the ground for a good amount of time before I even saw an EMT walk over to him. The police weren’t doing much to help him either. After the ambulance finally took him away, about 30-40 minutes later, the cop cars all left. Nobody looking for evidence – nothing. Does anyone know if the murder weapon was actually found? In the lobby of the building where this occurred there is but one flyer (in Spanish) asking for people to call with information. A friend in the building was home all day Saturday and said the police never came to knock on her door to ask if she saw anything, even though she was home at the time the crime occurred, and although she did not witness anything, she has a full view of the street from almost every window in her apartment. She said building management has done nothing to alert residents about what occurred, offer more safety, etc. The NYPD did not show their face again until 6pm (after dark no less) Sunday evening, taped off the entire block and were looking around with their flashlights. The police van was parked outside that building for hours. That doesn’t make any sense to me. Were they not taking it seriously until the victim took a turn for the worse and they realized that they hadn’t taken it seriously enough at 2 – 3 am Saturday? I truly hope they find the murderers. I don’t know how Mr. Risoli came to be in that car with his killers, but whatever the reason, he never deserved to die and there are cold blooded killers free on the streets, likely the streets of our neighborhood. I think everyone who cares that this crime is solved write to the local precinct and let them know we are concerned with the lack of progress on this investigation.
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
Revelation 21:4
@ Enrique
Thank you for sharing Lou’s poem.
Two years ago my mother was dying from cancer. She was angry and her final days were anything but peaceful. After coming home from a harrowing visit to the hospital, I shared with Lou over email my fears, frustration, sadness and shame. The shame was at not having previously been inappropriately sensitive to those who have struggled with health or the lost a parent. Some of his response is as follows:
“And if the sadness and futility of the battle should get you in its grip, do not be afraid of one or the other. Not much else in your life will be as immense. You do not have to be afraid that you will crack under the weight of such sorrow. Or be driven insane. You are resilient. As she is. Be valiant for yourself as you have been for her. Rage against the dimming of the light. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage that death should be allowed to claim so queenly a queen. It isn’t right and no reasons will ever make it right. Rage that you’re being robbed of a mother who means the world to you. Rage that she should be made to suffer. Let the rage you feel be felt in all particulars. Do not imagine a world without her. Not yet. Not while she still draws breath and makes herself heard in the universe. Enjoy battling alongside her. It’s all you can do now.”
What he didn’t know when he wrote that is my mother had eulogized her mother with Dylan Thomas’s poem, as I did my mother at her funeral.
His email was a great help when I had given up on help. And now, I rage again, but this time that death has been allowed to claim so kingly a king.
My best in peace.
I’m very sorry for the loss his husband and family are suffering. May God console you with the peace that passeth all understanding.
This story makes me so sad. I’m hoping and praying his family and husband have comfort in good memories and that the people responsible are brought SWIFTLY to justice!
There must be someone who knows something that can help solve this tragic crime. Even the smallest piece of information could possibly be relevant. If you know something, please find it in your heart to call the tip line. Lou’s family and friends are grief-stricken. it is absolutely heartwrenching that the life of such a wonderful man was taken in this way. This murder must be solved.
Lou and his partner are longtime friends. You would not find a gentler, more generous, peace loving person than Lou. This is so tragic, so wrong, so evil. All we can do is celebrate his rich and wonderful life, one which made all who knew Lou happier and better for it. Hugs and prayers..
Terrible news…RIP
Make some arrests!!!
I just caught up with this after being out of town and it’s so sad. I hope they catch the monsters.
Lou was a poet. Here’s the first stanza of a poem he wrote September 30, 2003.
For Althea Gibson
Today
I cried
reading
the obit
of
Althea
Gibson,
tennis
great.
I mean,
not
in-
side,
which is
my
usual way,
but tears
that could
be felt
on my face,
not many
before
something
in me
stopped them,
but
enough
to wet
under
my eyes
and
drip
down
onto
my cheeks.
Oddly,
more
on the left
than on
the right.
I guess
I tilt
my head
a bit
left.
What a sad shame… from the previous stories in this site..he seems like a very caring person… I do not know him but we are all human being and deserve the respect of others… my condolenses to his family and friends and hope that they catch the people respnsible and put them in jail for a long time
Sad. I hope the police find out exactly who did this.
Good looking guy and even though didn’t know him personally, would often see him around the nabe through the years. Always seemed to be surrounded by good friends enjoying simple, local pastimes. Heartfelt condolences to the family and fellow neighbors
This is terrible , my heart and soul to his family
May his family find comfort in the lives he has touched and may his murder be punished by the strong hand of the law. R.I.P.
May he rest in peace. Condolences to his family.
Police dept should be pressured to solve this type of crimes. Looks like the story was on Channel 7 and NY1:
http://gaycitynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Van-Bramer-HornIS.jpg
i wish they had a more current picture of him…i think i knew him but cant figure it out from this picture
Very sad indeed. I hope the police find the killers very soon.
May he rest in peace. And may his murderer’s be brought to justice!
R.I.P. Mr. Rispoli.
My sincerest condolencs to the Rispoli family. My God, how sad.
This is truly terrible news. My sincere sympathies to his family.
R.I.P – how they catch the bastards!
This story is beyond sad and so disturbing that this happened in our beloved Sunnyside! Prayers for the victim, his partner and his family! I hope they catch the guy(s) who did this!