Slaying Victim in Brooklyn Is Said to Have Been Part of Genovese Mob

By CHRISTINE HAUSER
A 70-year-old Brooklyn man who was found dead in his duplex apartment on Thursday was a longtime mob figure, the authorities said Friday.

The man, William Romano, was found submerged in a bathtub upstairs, and his companion, Elviza Aronova, 36, was found partially clad in a bedroom on the lower floor, the police said. She had apparently been beaten and stabbed to death, and Mr. Romano apparently died of head injuries, the medical examiner’s office said.

The bodies were found in the apartment Mr. Romano shared with Ms. Aronova at 8020 Bay Parkway in Bensonhurst, the police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, said at a news conference.

Both suffered head injuries, Mr. Kelly said. Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the city medical examiner’s office, said Ms. Aronova also had stab wounds to the torso. The authorities were investigating whether Ms. Aronova had been sexually assaulted.

Mr. Romano had owned the 54-unit apartment building where he lived until he sold it in 2006, retaining two apartments there, Mr. Kelly said. A man who lived in Mr. Romano’s second apartment often visited him and Ms. Aronova and had a key to their apartment, the police said. The tenant discovered Ms. Aronova’s body and called the police, who found Mr. Romano’s body when they arrived shortly after 5 p.m.

Mr. Romano kept an office in the second apartment, and the police found two shotguns, a .45-caliber handgun and a live hand grenade there, Mr. Kelly said. The police questioned the tenant but did not detain him, a law enforcement official said.

The official said the first apartment was in disarray, the electricity had been turned off and it appeared that someone had tried to clean up the crime scene with bleach.

Ms. Aronova’s mother had gone to the apartment, No. 7, on Thursday after her daughter said she needed food, but there was no reply, Mr. Kelly said. The door was ajar, and a neighbor called the police for the mother, the police said.

It was not clear how long the bodies had been there. Mr. Kelly said. Mr. Romano was last seen at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.

State and federal law enforcement officials said Mr. Romano had long been associated with the Genovese crime family, in particular with the capo Salvatore Lombardi, known as Sally Dogs, who was heavily involved in narcotics trafficking.

Nearly two decades ago, Mr. Romano was arrested at Kennedy International Airport after customs inspectors found about two pounds of heroin taped to his shins and midsection, the officials said. He denied the charges, saying the drugs had been planted on him by the authorities. He was tried twice in Federal District Court in Brooklyn; the first case ended in a hung jury and the second in his acquittal.

His lawyer at both trials, Gerald L. Shargel, said Friday, “He was a longtime client, and I was saddened to hear of his death.”

William K. Rashbaum contributed reporting.