Antonio and Bridgette
Redinel
Dramatic CCTV footage has been released showing the final moments of a groom-to-be who was stabbed at his engagement party while breaking up a fight between his brothers and a restaurant.
Newly-engaged Antonio Lacertosa was fatally stabbed with a butcher's knife after a melee outside a Staten Island bar last month.
His alleged killer, Albanian Redinel Dervishaj, was captured on camera in a heated violent row outside the bar which saw him being thrown over a car by one of Lacertosa's party.
Street cameras outside Espana Restaurant in Annadale, Staten Island, captured the large fight outside the bar, before Dervishaj disappears down an alleyway.
Less than a minute later, having chased after the restaurant worker, Lacertosa is seen staggering from the alleyway clutching his side after being knifed.
Dervishaj learned earlier this month he would not be indicted on murder charges, after a New York Grandy jury ruled he had acted in self defense.
Lacertosa's family branded the decision a 'gross injustice', especially in light of the newly-released CCTV footage.
His family said in a statement they were 'mystified' that the District Attorney's office was unable to secure an indictment against the 35-year-old Albanian.
Lacertosa's mother Linda told the New York Daily Post the new footage proves 'unequivocally' that Dervishaj and restaurant owner Ridi Zeneli were the 'aggressors and protagonists' in the scuffle which led to Lacertosa's stabbing.
She said: 'We will live forever knowing that there was no justice in this case but we know that Anthony is in a better place.'
Mr Lacertosa was celebrating his engagement to 24-year-old Bridgette Schneider outside a Staten Island restaurant when the deadly scene unfolded.
Defense attorney Thomas Reilly argued Mr Lacertosa's party had become rowdy and were confronted by Dervishaj and restaurant manager Ridi Zeneli when seen urinating on the Espana Restaurant and Lounge's exterior.
According to Mr Reilly, surveillance video showed 'my client getting beaten, thrown over a car. He then runs to his own car to escape and is chased down by six guys who are throwing bottles at him.'
From there Mr Reilly said they dashed back into the restaurant after fleeing down an alley.
Inside, Dervishaj grabbed the knife that would be used to stab Mr Lacertosa, fatally.
Three days after the March 17th murder, Dervishaj was detained in Palo Hills, Illinois by the local authorities working in tandem with the New York City Police Department.
Dervishaj has a violent past, police records show. In 2007 he was shot in the arm after brawling with Albanian mobsters.
Planning now for a funeral instead of a wedding, Mr Lacertosa's fiancee, Bridgette, has since been too distraught to talk.
A photo on their wedding website shows a smiling Mr Lacertosa with his arm around a beaming Bridgette.
The couple, who met at Tottenville High School, were shopping for a house in the neighborhood, Mr Lacertosa's brother said.
The brother added that Mr Lacertosa was 'a good kid. He carried this whole household.'
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Originally Posted by MoonDancer
