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Gotti Victim Dissolved in a Barrel of Flesh-Eating Acid

Thursday, Jan 8, 2009 | Updated 6:47 AM PST

AFP/Getty Images

The mystery of what happened to a neighbor of John Gotti may finally be solved.

The fate of the neighbor who accidentally killed John Gotti's son in a traffic accident has been one of the city's darkest and most enduring mysteries. Whatever happened to John Favara, most New Yorkers knew it wasn't good.

And now it seems that Favara was abducted and forced into a van that was driven to Brooklyn where he was killed and his body was dissolved in a 55-gallon drum of acid by one of the Gambino's most twisted hitmen, according to the Daily News, which cited court papers.

Charles Carneglia, an alleged mob soldier awaiting trial on five murders, made sure there was no body to be found by dissolving Favara's remains with flesh-eating acid, which he kept by the drum in his basement, a government witness testified.

"In a later discussion concerning his expertise at disposing of bodies for the Gambino family, which included a discussion of a book [Charles Carneglia] was reading on dismemberment, [Carneglia] informed another Gambino family associate that acid was the best method to use to avoid detection," government prosecutors wrote in court papers.

The 51-year-old Favara cemented his gruesome fate in March of 1980 when he struck and killed 12-year-old Frankie Gotti who darted in front of his car on a mini-bike. Police said the death was an accident. Before he disappeared in July his car was stolen, he received death threats, and had the word "murderer "sprayed on his car. When Favara tried to apologize, Victoria Gotti - the don's wife - allegedly chased him away with a baseball bat.

What happened to Favara has been the stuff of infamous city lore: in 2004, the Feds dug up a lot in Queens on a tip that Favara's remains were buried there. Most recently, the feds believed his body was buried in vat of cement and dropped into Sheepshead Bay. Victoria Gotti told the Daily News in 2004 that she or her had nothing to do with Favara's disappearance.