Ellen Moynihan, Elizabeth Keogh, Rocco Parascandola and Larry McShane | (TNS) New York Each day Information
NEW YORK — An overdose sufferer whose corpse was dumped on a Bronx sidewalk was recognized Thursday because the son of a onetime Copacabana bouncer performed by Viggo Mortensen within the Oscar-winning film “Inexperienced Guide.”
Frank Vallelonga Jr., 60, was the son of the late Frank Vallelonga Sr., often known as “Tony Lip,” who famously accompanied Black pianist Don Shirley as a bodyguard throughout a tour via the deep South within the early Nineteen Sixties earlier than an unlikely transformation from doorman to actor — and a recurring position on “The Sopranos.”
The suspect arrested for allegedly leaving the lifeless physique behind apparently loaded the physique right into a automobile belonging to the sufferer’s Academy Award-winning brother for the Nov. 29 trip to his remaining resting place, a prison criticism alleged.
“That dude was lifeless already,” driver Steven Smith informed police, in line with the prison criticism. “He overdosed. I didn’t have something to do with that.”
The physique of Frank Jr. was found at 3:51 a.m. Monday after a 911 name reporting a physique outdoors a Hunts Level manufacturing facility, and police stated video surveillance and witnesses confirmed the automotive with New Jersey plates stopped earlier than the corpse was pulled outdoors and left behind.
Vallelonga’s reason for loss of life stays formally unconfirmed.
“I liked the man. He was an excellent man,” “Sopranos” star Vincent Pastore informed the Each day Information. “The final time I noticed Frankie he got here to one in every of my performing lessons within the metropolis, about six months in the past.”
The corpse was discovered with none identification, initially leaving the sufferer’s identify as a thriller. Vallelonga Jr. was the proprietor of Tony Lip’s Italian Restaurant, named after his well-known father, in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.
Vallelonga Jr.’s personal stab at an performing profession included credit for “Inexperienced Guide” and an look on “The Sopranos.”
An Instagram photograph from 2019, when “Inexperienced Guide” received the Greatest Image Oscar, exhibits a tuxedo-clad Frank Jr. hugging Woman Gaga.
Smith, 35, was arrested someday after the physique was found on eight prices together with concealment of a human corpse, possession of a stolen automobile and grand larceny. He was launched with out bail after his Bronx Legal Courtroom arraignment.
Smith lives in a Bronx homeless shelter, in line with cops. Whereas he was charged with dumping the physique, he was not concerned in Vallelonga’s loss of life, police sources stated.
Based on Smith, a girl named Pam informed him any individual overdosed in a automotive. Smith allegedly admitted to driving off within the automobile and leaving the physique behind.
“I acquired the physique out by pulling him out of the automotive on the ground,” Smith allegedly informed cops. “I don’t know the man in any respect.”
The automotive carrying Vallelonga, a grey 2021 Hyundai Elantra, belongs to his youthful brother Nick, in line with court docket papers. Nick Vallelonga wrote the screenplay for “Inexperienced Guide” and captured a pair of Oscars. He went on to develop into a profitable film producer.
“Mr. Smith was not concerned within the decedent’s unlucky passing, as famous within the criticism and the fees introduced by the District Lawyer’s workplace,” a Authorized Support spokesperson informed The Information. “We’ve simply acquired preliminary discovery from prosecutors, and we’ll have extra to say about this case after an intensive overview and investigation.”
The Vallelonga brothers’ dad is maybe greatest often known as an actor for his position as New York mob boss Carmine Lupertazzi in “The Sopranos” together with small roles in traditional organized crime motion pictures like “Goodfellas,” “Donnie Brasco” and “The Godfather.”
The household patriarch landed his job with the musician throughout a renovation on the Copa, and spent 18 month on the street with Shirley. The musician, who died in 2013, requested no film be made till after his loss of life and the story remained recognized solely among the many Vallelonga household.