Antonio Charles Ruffino

Notorious pater familias of the Ruffino Clan. Came from Sicilian mountain village Caltavuturo around 1895. Famous for his temper, he once beat a man to death in front of a cheering crowd in NYC. The unfortunate victim of Antonio's rage was a neighborhood drunkard who had stumbled over, then badly beaten up, Antonio's 5 year-old son Joey (Anita's grandfather).

Antonio and his teen bride, the meek and melancholy Vincenza Meli, lost their first three children: Gaetano (1902-1906) died of meningitis. A set of twins were miscarried. After that, they had 6 children who grew up, married, and flourished in NYC.

Around the time the last one, Eleanor was born(1918), Antonio fathered a child with a woman named Mary. Little Gloria was never accepted by the rest of the Ruffino Clan. Ironically, Gloria married an unrelated Paul Ruffino. Upon Anita's last visit to Great Aunt Eleanor in 2004, we found Mrs Paul Ruffino still had a listing in the Queens White Pages.

Antonio worked for the NYC Department of Sanitation while he was raising his family. He also had a chauffer's licencse. In later years, he had a small construction business on Long Island. He spent most of his time living in a bungalow in Seldon, L.I. with Mary and Gloria. This became a summer country retereat for most of the Ruffino offspring.

From a 2004 email of his grandson Anthony Richard Ruffino, this cynical take on his character:

His "protective" behavior (e.g.) the beating he gave that guy, were not as much the acts of a responsible father as they were the machismo of a tyrant who liked the 

image of being very dangerous when aroused. Toughness was, to him, his

first line of character. Strictness is a part of toughness, so he did give

the illusion that he was sincerely worried about the welfare

of his kids. But if that was an admirable trait he would not have

tormented them with the open-for-all-to-see mistress and the shameful way

he mistreated his wife---so much so that my dad actually jumped in to

protect her at risk of (and indeed receiving!) some harsh beatings.

The old man was self-absorbed, cruel, tough and incredibly narrow in his

views. The love we inherit from my dad and his siblings was planted,

nurtured and grew by the unswerving and selfless love and deeds of my grandmother Vincenza.