Police block access to N.J. neighborhood where accused mob boss killer Anthony Comello was captured – NJ.com

Police blocked public access to a bayside New Jersey neighborhood Sunday where Anthony Comello, the man accused of gunning down a reputed mob boss last week, was arrested as the investigation into the Staten Island killing remains ongoing.

A source told NJ Advance Media that Comello, 24, of Staten Island, was apprehended on Cadiz Drive in Brick. Property records show his relatives own one of the dozen homes on the quiet, secluded street.

Francesco Cali, considered the underboss of the Gambino crime family, was fatally shot 10 times outside his home in Staten Island on Wednesday. Comello was arrested on murder and related charges Saturday.

Early Sunday, officers stopped traffic and denied access on St. Lawrence Blvd and Bahia Court, blocks away from the home where Comello was arrested. Police said only residents were allowed into the bayside neighborhood at the southernmost end of Brick, where most houses have boat docks.

“It’s a quiet neighborhood and we are more concerned about the quality of life for the residents on the street,” Brick Police Chief James Riccio said in an email to NJ Advance Media. “The investigation at the house should be wrapped up soon and the area will be open.”

By early afternoon, police pulled the roadblocks back to Cadiz Drive, but continued to block public access to the road, which connects to several adjoining streets. Riccio did not say when the area would open or why the neighborhood was blocked off when residents had not been evacuated or placed on lock down.

Upscale homes, many with covered boats in the driveway, dot the quiet neighborhood. On Sunday, residents moved freely, some walking their dogs or riding their bikes. Occasionally, residents’ cars lined up along the police checkpoint, waiting to get through to their homes.

On Cadiz Drive, there was a boat covered in a white tarp in the three-story gray-and-white house where police arrested Comello. A sign read “Comello Cove” at the back of the home overlooking the marina.

Comello remains in the Ocean County jail in Toms River and will be extradited to Staten Island. Information for Comello’s attorney was not immediately available. The New York Police Department on Sunday did not release additional information on the case or confirm who owned the home where Comello was arrested.

In a news conference on Saturday, New York Police Department Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said investigators will be asking whether the alleged shooter was acting alone or working for other people.

The truck Comello was driving the day Cali was killed was recovered when he was arrested in New Jersey on Saturday, Shea said. The gun, however, has yet to be found.

The motive for the killing has not been revealed by police.

NBCNewYork.com, citing sources, reported that cell phone records led police to the arrest in Brick. The sources told NBC that the killing may not have been mob related.

Staff writers Ed Murray and Kevin Shea contributed to this story.

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters.