Thug Life

After more than a year living in Bayside, Harold suffered such severe pain from his prostate cancer that he had trouble walking. He quit Gotham Maintenance. His routine checkups at North Shore hospital became more frequent. Lina remembered Harold telling her about his doctor's warnings. "The doctor, he tell him, 'You have to be operated on,' " she recalled. But when it came to surgery, the proud man was obstinate. "Nobody is going to touch my balls!" Harold declared to Lina one afternoon in the garden.

On some nights, racked with pain, Harold would roll out of bed and fall onto the floor, helpless, unable to move. Helen would rush downstairs and rouse Joe Merli, who would help hoist the stubborn, tortured old man back into bed.

Illustration by Tim Gabor

Related Content

• 'Talking Landscape: Early Media Work, 1974-1984'
  February 8, 2012
• Mini Wine Growlers Coming Soon to Brooklyn Winery
  May 22, 2012
• Bloomberg's Budget Cuts Brooklyn's After-School Programs in Half
  May 20, 2012
• Matzo Balls And Disco Balls: Pairing Great GoogaMooga's Food And Music Offerings
  May 18, 2012
• Welcome to Beer UP: A (New!) Weekly Examination of, Well, Beer
  May 17, 2012

More About

• Rudolph Giuliani
• Harold Giuliani
• Harold Hall
• Criminal Sentencing and Punishment
• New York Crime

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter: (Sent out every Thursday) Our weekly feature stories, movie reviews, calendar picks and more - minus the newsprint and sent directly to your inbox.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

Research assistance: Jennifer Warren

•This source, referred to subsequently as "Lewis's friend," provided critical details of the criminal histories of Leo and Lewis D'Avanzo and Harold Giuliani, including the fact that Harold had "done time" at Sing Sing. Court documents and other records confirmed more than a half-dozen pieces of information he supplied. None of his information proved to be incorrect. A close friend of Lewis's, this source is also a convicted felon, with a criminal record dating back to the '60s.