Brother of slain man says he was target of botched hit
The brother of a man gunned down in an alleged botched mob hit at a Bronx tavern took the stand yesterday to bolster prosecutors’ claims that he was the intended target of the bloody 1999 murder.
Thomas Brown, 46, testified that he was embroiled in a nasty feud with accused trigger man Joseph Meldish when, cops claim, Meldish burst into Frenchy’s Tavern in Throggs Neck and gunned down Brown’s brother, Joey, in a hail of bullets.
Prosecutors charge that the 54-year-old Meldish — a reputed member of the Purple Gang, a drug-dealing group tied to the Genovese, Lucchese and Bonanno crime families — had meant to wipe out Thomas Brown in the attack.
Meldish later broke into Brown’s home, but Brown — an admitted cocaine dealer — didn’t turn him in to cops, Brown testified.
"I didn’t want any problems with him — nobody wanted any problems with him," Brown said.
During testimony, prosecutor Christine Scaccia showed a photo from the 1990s that showed Brown sitting alongside his brothers, Joey and John, in tuxedos.
The similarities between the fair skinned, light-eyed, brown-haired brothers is striking.
Brown — who noted that he was two inches taller than Joey — said Meldish had never seen him and his brother together.
Cops previously have said they think Meldish and his accomplice, Kimberly Hanzlick, 45, meant to retaliate against Thomas Brown after Meldish was arrested on robbery charges.
Joey Brown’s wife, Eileen, testified earlier in the week that she was standing with her husband at a bistro table seconds before the ambush.
"I saw a man standing there with a gun pulled out, saying, ‘This is for you, motherfu-ker," she tearfully recalled.
Jurors were shown a graphic video of the 35-year-old Brown’s bullet-ridden body sprawled on the bar floor, with blood pouring from his face.
On cross examination, Meldish’s lawyer, Murray Richman, tried to establish a link between Joey Brown, the mob and a man Richman identified as "Bobby the Weasel."
"Didn’t you tell [FBI] agents that your brother killed Bobby and helped dispose of the body?" Richman asked Brown.
"I said I heard a rumor," Brown said. "I didn’t say he killed somebody
Thomas Brown, 46, testified that he was embroiled in a nasty feud with accused trigger man Joseph Meldish when, cops claim, Meldish burst into Frenchy’s Tavern in Throggs Neck and gunned down Brown’s brother, Joey, in a hail of bullets.
Prosecutors charge that the 54-year-old Meldish — a reputed member of the Purple Gang, a drug-dealing group tied to the Genovese, Lucchese and Bonanno crime families — had meant to wipe out Thomas Brown in the attack.
On the stand in Bronx Supreme court, Brown said he got on Meldish’s bad side over his refusal to give Meldish a loan.
Meldish later broke into Brown’s home, but Brown — an admitted cocaine dealer — didn’t turn him in to cops, Brown testified.
"I didn’t want any problems with him — nobody wanted any problems with him," Brown said.
During testimony, prosecutor Christine Scaccia showed a photo from the 1990s that showed Brown sitting alongside his brothers, Joey and John, in tuxedos.
The similarities between the fair skinned, light-eyed, brown-haired brothers is striking.
Brown — who noted that he was two inches taller than Joey — said Meldish had never seen him and his brother together.
Cops previously have said they think Meldish and his accomplice, Kimberly Hanzlick, 45, meant to retaliate against Thomas Brown after Meldish was arrested on robbery charges.
Joey Brown’s wife, Eileen, testified earlier in the week that she was standing with her husband at a bistro table seconds before the ambush.
"I saw a man standing there with a gun pulled out, saying, ‘This is for you, motherfu-ker," she tearfully recalled.
Jurors were shown a graphic video of the 35-year-old Brown’s bullet-ridden body sprawled on the bar floor, with blood pouring from his face.
On cross examination, Meldish’s lawyer, Murray Richman, tried to establish a link between Joey Brown, the mob and a man Richman identified as "Bobby the Weasel."
"Didn’t you tell [FBI] agents that your brother killed Bobby and helped dispose of the body?" Richman asked Brown.
"I said I heard a rumor," Brown said. "I didn’t say he killed somebody
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