{"id":7953,"date":"2025-10-18T22:32:31","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T22:32:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/7953\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T22:32:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T22:32:31","slug":"beloved-italian-grandfather-beaten-to-death-by-psycho-killer-at-brooklyn-subway-station-laid-to-rest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/7953\/","title":{"rendered":"Beloved Italian grandfather beaten to death by psycho killer at Brooklyn subway station laid to rest"},"content":{"rendered":"

A beloved Italian grandfather and MetroTech security guard who was\u00a0beaten to death\u00a0<\/a>at a Brooklyn subway station was laid to rest Saturday amid a mixture of laughter and tears at a Bensonhurst church.<\/p>\n

About 200 relatives and friends turned out at St. Dominic\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in shock and denial that he is gone,\u201d\u00a0Christopher Tanzi\u00a0told about 200 family members and friends\u00a0of his uncle. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicola Tanzi, 64, was beaten to death by a madman at a subway station near his workplace in Brooklyn. Robert Mecea<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile it\u2019s easy to fall into a trap of anger and blame,\u201d the nephew told funeral attendees, \u201cthis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Tanzi\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile 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,\u201d the\u00a0nephew said.<\/p>\n

Tanzi\u2019s big Italian family was his priority and what he was most proud of, the nephew recalled.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

\u201cHe would drop anything for his family, from rearranging his work schedule, to be present at my own children\u2019s 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\u2019t find in New Jersey,\u201d the nephew said.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The family patriarch was \u201can anachronism\u201d in many ways because he didn\u2019t drive, didn\u2019t have a cell phone and hated credit cards, the nephew said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs much as he didn\u2019t conform to the way the world has gone, he was just as steadfast in his family and family traditions,\u201d\u00a0Tanzi\u00a0said. \u201cTo me, growing up, Uncle Nicky was synonymous with Christmas Eve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa talks with Deacon Anthony Mammoliti during Nicola Tanzi\u2019s funeral. Michael Nagle<\/p>\n

The nephew recalled the family\u2019s tradition of making calzone at 9 a.m. and then eating the cheesy dish until noon, before \u201cthe kitchen reopened at 4 p.m.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nephew also called Tanzi \u201cthe life of the party\u201d and ended the eulogy telling parishioners about his uncle\u2019s \u201cdad jokes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the giant shared-appetizers, intended for 10 people, arrives at the table you can bet my uncle will ask, \u2018Where is the food for everyone else?\u2019\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n

About 200 people attended the funeral services in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, for Tanzi. Michael Nagle<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd my favorite, at the end of a long, drawn-out three-hour eating marathon, my uncle would utter the legendary command, \u2018Don\u2019t diet now. Summer is nine months away.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The alleged killer was participating in a taxpayer-funded art \u201cdiversion\u201d program for repeat criminals and\u00a0painted pictures of pigs dressed as cops being murdered and other vile scenes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

David Mazariegos, 25, was charged with first-degree murder for the merciless, unprovoked attack. David Mazariegos\/ Instagram<\/p>\n

But at Tanzi\u2019s funeral, his family tried to look beyond the horror that led to the public safety officer\u2019s death and instead reminisced about the positive times with the patriarch.<\/p>\n

The nephew asked everyone in attendance to say a prayer for his uncle and \u201cgive a great big bear hug to someone you love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOverindulge in your favorite food, and find some time to reminisce and laugh about the good times,\u201d the nephew said. \u201cMy uncle Nicky wouldn\u2019t have had it any other way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A beloved Italian grandfather and MetroTech security guard who was\u00a0beaten to death\u00a0at a Brooklyn subway station was laid…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7954,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[3353,98,100,99,57,238,9,24,63,7041,58],"class_list":{"0":"post-7953","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn","8":"tag-barclays-center","9":"tag-brooklyn","10":"tag-brooklyn-headlines","11":"tag-brooklyn-news","12":"tag-metro","13":"tag-murders","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-nyc","17":"tag-security-guards","18":"tag-us-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7953\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}