John "Johnny Gons" Casasanto, a mob associate known for his good looks and short temper, was found shot in the kitchen of his South Philadelphia rowhouse yesterday in what appeared to be a gangland-style slaying, police said.
Casasanto, 35, a one-time associate of jailed mob boss John Stanfa's, was pronounced dead at 12:01 a.m. this morning at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He had been shot at least twice at close range in the back and in the head, according to investigators.
There was no sign of forced entry at his home in the 1200 block of Durfor Street. Investigators speculated that Casasanto might have known his assailant.
Police detectives and members of both the FBI and Philadelphia Police Department's organized-crime units fanned out across the neighborhood into the night, questioning residents.
According to two law enforcement sources, Casasanto had been warned twice by the FBI in the last year about a possible mob contract on his life. Authorities declined to comment on that yesterday.
Casasanto, who served more than eight years in prison on a racketeering charge in the 1990s, was identified by investigators as a suspect in the January 2002 slaying of Raymond "Long John" Martorano, a veteran Philadelphia mob figure. Martorano, 74, had recently returned from prison and was rumored to be reestablishing himself in the underworld when he was shot in his car near his home at Sixth and Fitzwater Streets.
Martorano drove to the hospital before collapsing. He died three weeks later. No one has been charged with the murder.
Casasanto's most recent brush with the law came last month, when he was charged with a stabbing outside Club Deco in Old City.
He was freed on bail and had been scheduled to appear at a court hearing next month on assault charges. The victim, singer Chico DeBarge, had minor injuries after being stabbed in the back during an altercation outside the club about 3 a.m. on Oct. 23.
Last night, investigators were attempting to piece together how Casasanto spent Friday night. At least two of the homes on the neatly kept block have video-security cameras in their front windows; investigators were hoping to obtain tapes.
Police were called to the scene about 2 p.m., Inspector Bill Colarulo said, after two friends and a family member broke into the home.
