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Background
of DeLuca
Shows Varying
Facets
The
gangland-type slaying of Arthur DeLuca, which sent police in
two cities on an intensive investigation of organized
crime, has
raised many questions in the minds of his family and
friends.
The big
question is "Why?"
Why was this
youth, who on
the surface,
at least, was not
much
different from hundreds of
others,
killed in such a brutal
and fiendish
manner?
When the
6-foot, 200-pound
Niagara Falls
man was found in
the trunk of
his expensive, sporty
automobile—strangled
by an electric cord—early Wednesday, acquaintances"
were shocked.
DeLuca, many
thought, wasn't
the gangster
type. Backing their
bewilderment
are some facts.
Example:
DeLuca was a husky,
handsome
regular football player
for Niagara Falls High School.
A tackle, he
started several 1951
games. In
1952, just before the
Cataracts'
opening game, DeLuca
was declared
ineligible because his grades were too low.
Later he
played the same position
for the Niagara Falls semiprofessional
football
team.
Example:
DeLuca, an active,
enthusiastic
member of the Boys
Club when the
club played a key
role in
promoting the now-defunct
Soap Box
Derby here, was
a yearly
entrant in the race. His
homemade
vehicles were carefully made
an
acquaintance remembers.
But, there
are others things
remembered
about the only child of
Mr. and Mrs.
Attilio DeLuca of l8th
St.
Gang
Influence Cited
People who
worked with him said
he held a job for two brief periods
as a
bricklayer, though he did not
lay
brick but merely assisted in carrying and counting
them, said he lacked perseverance.
People with whom he attended high school said he was easily
influenced by older youth particularly a set of young toughs
known as the Pine Avenue gang.
(One member of the so called gang is now in
hiding, and police here believe he may become the fourth
victim in the current vengeance series).
Behind the wheel of the 1957 Cadillac DeLuca
drove, despite the fact his only apparent means of
support was a weekly unemployment check,
DeLuca was a familiar
figure hire
and in Buffalo.
He dressed
well. His shoes were
buffed to a
soft glow. His wavy,
black hair
was combed neatly into
a stylish
pompadour.
At home,
DeLuca lived in a
comfortable,
well-furnished apartment
upstairs at
636 21st St., with
his wife
Arlene, an expectant
mother, and
their son, Arthur Jr.
If anyone
wondered about the
money
required to wine and dine
friends in at
least two cities, drive
an expensive
auto, date a Buffalo
woman (police
are still questioning
her), and
live in a stylish
apartment, no
one said anything.
Rumors of
being helped financially
by his family
and in-laws
were aired.
No one cared whether
the rumor was
true.
It was
pointed out the Niagara
Falls man,
who was acquainted
with Buffalo
hoodlums Fred and
Frank Aquino,
was to have opened
a coffee shop
in a Town of
Tonawanda
plaza soon.
However, a
check with the plaza
owners
revealed that another Niagara
Falls man,
not identified,
had obtained
a five-year lease for
the shop.
Stories
Conflict
All kinds of
stories are making
the rounds.
One concerns
the disappearance
of a Niagara
Falls woman
with whom
DeLuca was friendly.
The woman's
husband and DeLuca
are reported
to, have fought
at the man's
home, and within
days after
DeLuca disappeared
the woman is
said to have gone
to Florida.
Many of the
stories conflict.
For instance,
the Aquinos are
called
friends of DeLuca in 'one
version,
enemies in another.
Whatever the
truth concerning
the victim, investigations
are slowly
lighting the
shadowy private
life of
Arthur DeLuca.
And those
facts may furnish
vital clues
to his slaying—and
the slayers.
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