Mafia boss ‘gunned down by his niece’s lover’

THE first mob boss murdered in New York since 1985 was allegedly gunned down by a man he told to stay away from his niece.

Police say Anthony Comello, 24, shot Francesco Cali – and it was not a hit by an assassin from a rival gang.

Surveillance footage shows him shaking hands with Cali, 53, outside his Staten Island mansion on Wednesday night before drawing a gun. Comello, who is in custody, is said to have been outraged at being told he could not see Cali’s niece, who was inside the house.

Police believe the killer lured Cali out of his home by backing his vehicle into Cali’s silver Cadillac SUV and knocking off his number plate.

The gunman allegedly shot Cali six times in the chest and head before running over his body and driving away.

Cali was the head of the infamous Gambino crime family and lived in the wealthy neighbourhood of Todt Hill – the filming location for the Corleone family compound in The Godfather.

A former head of the Gambino family, Paul Castellano, was shot dead outside New York’s Sparks Steak House in 1985.