A beloved Italian grandfather and MetroTech security guard who was beaten to death at a Brooklyn subway station was laid to rest Saturday amid a mixture of laughter and tears at a Bensonhurst church.
About 200 relatives and friends turned out at St. Dominic’s Catholic Church on Bay Ridge Parkway to mourn Nicola Tanzi, who was killed Oct. 7 as the devout Catholic held a door open for the suspect, police said.
“I’ve been in shock and denial that he is gone,” Christopher Tanzi told about 200 family members and friends of his uncle. “I have been intensely sad, and angry with the situation, and that we live in a world where something like this could even happen to a good man like him.”
Nicola Tanzi, 64, was beaten to death by a madman at a subway station near his workplace in Brooklyn. Robert Mecea
“While it’s easy to fall into a trap of anger and blame,” the nephew told funeral attendees, “this morning, I challenge us all to take this time to remember how my Uncle Nicky lived, and the example his life is for all of us.”
Tanzi, 64, was sucker punched twice in the face and knocked to the ground at the Jay Street-MetroTech, allegedly by deranged David Mazariegos, who records show has five open criminal cases.
The 25-year-old has been accused of repeatedly kicking the Italian immigrant in the face while he was on the ground, a brutal video of the attack shows. He has yet to enter a plea in the case.
Tanzi’s service, attended by Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, was punctuated by sniffles as some parishioners wept while praying and singing hymns accompanied by a booming organ.
“While he and my grandmother were often the ultimate odd couple, arguing with each other in Italian in one moment and laughing the next, they were always there for me on Sundays and holidays, a constant in my life as I grew up,” the nephew said.
Tanzi’s big Italian family was his priority and what he was most proud of, the nephew recalled.
David Mazariegos, a repeat criminal offender, was in a diversion program that allowed him to draw pictures of pigs dressed as cops having their heads cut off. Steven Hirsch
“He would drop anything for his family, from rearranging his work schedule, to be present at my own children’s baptisms and communions, to running out early in the morning to get a box of bakery-fresh, chocolate, raspberry-filled cookies that I loved, and couldn’t find in New Jersey,” the nephew said.
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The family patriarch was “an anachronism” in many ways because he didn’t drive, didn’t have a cell phone and hated credit cards, the nephew said.
“As much as he didn’t conform to the way the world has gone, he was just as steadfast in his family and family traditions,” Tanzi said. “To me, growing up, Uncle Nicky was synonymous with Christmas Eve.”
Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa talks with Deacon Anthony Mammoliti during Nicola Tanzi’s funeral. Michael Nagle
The nephew recalled the family’s tradition of making calzone at 9 a.m. and then eating the cheesy dish until noon, before “the kitchen reopened at 4 p.m.”
The nephew also called Tanzi “the life of the party” and ended the eulogy telling parishioners about his uncle’s “dad jokes.”
“When the giant shared-appetizers, intended for 10 people, arrives at the table you can bet my uncle will ask, ‘Where is the food for everyone else?’” he recalled.
About 200 people attended the funeral services in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, for Tanzi. Michael Nagle
“And my favorite, at the end of a long, drawn-out three-hour eating marathon, my uncle would utter the legendary command, ‘Don’t diet now. Summer is nine months away.’”
The alleged killer was participating in a taxpayer-funded art “diversion” program for repeat criminals and painted pictures of pigs dressed as cops being murdered and other vile scenes.
David Mazariegos, 25, was charged with first-degree murder for the merciless, unprovoked attack. David Mazariegos/ Instagram
But at Tanzi’s funeral, his family tried to look beyond the horror that led to the public safety officer’s death and instead reminisced about the positive times with the patriarch.
The nephew asked everyone in attendance to say a prayer for his uncle and “give a great big bear hug to someone you love.”
“Overindulge in your favorite food, and find some time to reminisce and laugh about the good times,” the nephew said. “My uncle Nicky wouldn’t have had it any other way.”