Overview

Brian Rooney was a New York State parole officer responsible for supervising Lorenzo “Fat Cat” Nichols. After Nichols was arrested on new drug-related activity, Rooney pursued a parole violation that returned Nichols to custody.

Killing

Rooney was killed on October 10, 1985 in Queens. Federal appellate decisions consistently describe the killing as retaliation ordered by Nichols from custody because of Rooney’s role in enforcing Nichols’s parole.

Conflicting Accounts of the Shooters

The surviving court record does not provide a single consistent account of the immediate mechanics of the homicide. United States v. Lucas states that Randolph Lucas fired two shots that killed Rooney after senior Nichols associates sent Randolph and Lamont Lucas to attack him. Separate Bellamy habeas decisions recount state evidence that placed Howard Mason and Chris Williams at the shooting. Because both narratives appear in judicial records, this encyclopedia does not identify one shooter account as undisputed.

Historical Significance

The Rooney murder is an important event in the history of the Nichols organization because it demonstrates direct retaliation against a criminal-justice official and became a major component of the later state and federal investigations of the Queens networks.

Related Entries

• Lorenzo “Fat Cat” Nichols
• Howard “Pappy” Mason
• Killing of Brian Rooney
• Investigation of the Nichols and Mason Organizations

Evidence Status

A. Rooney’s official role, Nichols’s retaliation motive, and the date of the homicide are well supported. The identity of the immediate shooter is marked as disputed because judicial recitations differ.

Selected Sources

• United States v. Lucas, 17 F.3d 596 (2d Cir. 1994)
• Bellamy v. Cogdell, 974 F.2d 302 (2d Cir. 1992)
• Bellamy v. Cogdell, 802 F. Supp. 760 (E.D.N.Y. 1991)