Long Island man Gianluca Bordone arrested in stabbing death of NJ high schooler outside NYC axe-throwing bar
A Long Island man was arrested Thursday morning for allegedly fatally stabbing a New Jersey high school student in the heart during a fight outside of a Lower Manhattan axe-throwing bar, police said.
Gianluca Bordone, 19, faces manslaughter and assault charges over the deadly confrontation around 1:50 a.m. Thanksgiving morning in front of Live Axe at 96 Lafayette St. in Chinatown, cops said.
Bordone allegedly knifed Rocco Rodden, 17, and slashed his 19-year-old brother during the altercation outside the bar, where the teens had attended a private party, according to cops and prosecutors.
The brothers were rushed to Bellevue Hospital by EMS.
Rodden — a junior at Saint Joseph Regional High School, a private Catholic school in Montvale, NJ, — succumbed to his injuries at about 8:45 a.m., prosecutors said.
An autopsy showed he died from a 6-inch stab wound, with the knife piercing the left ventricle of his heart, according to Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eun Bi Kim.
The baby-faced Bordone wore a black sweatshirt with the word “courage” stretched across the back for his arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court early Saturday morning.
When the prosecutor informed the judge that Rodden died, Bordone mouthed “Oh my god” under his breath.
The fatal fight erupted after the private party ended and the group brought the remaining alcohol onto the street, where they “continued to drink and socialize” Kim said at the arraignment.
“During this altercation, the defendant stabbed the 17-year-old in the chest. He then slashed the 19-year-old brother across the torso, causing a deep laceration,” Kim said.
Bordone tried to flee by approaching a car and “then by approaching a party bus and attempting to talk his way inside,” the prosecutor said.
He ultimately climbed into a cab and met up with four friends who were also involved in the fight at Bowery and Canal, just a third of a mile away from where he allegedly unleashed the violence.
Cops zeroed in on him there after getting a description from witnesses, finding him wearing a vest coated in blood, prosecutors said.
The stabbing was caught on a surveillance camera.
Bordone’s lawyer claimed during the court hearing the incident was “far more complicated” than presented and that the fight was “clearly a brawl.”
“What was not discussed…is the chaos and mayhem that surrounded this entire incident including what my client was subjected to — which again not on surveillance video, not discussed by prospectors – where he was pummeled repeatedly,” attorney Warren Quaid argued.
“This was a chaotic scene.”
Quaid said the charges are “out of character for this boy,” who lives in Oyster Bay with his father and runs a party planning business.
The defense lawyer requested reasonable bail, citing Bordone’s lack of a criminal record, which the judge shot down.
The teenager turned to his well-dressed family with his mouth agape when the judge set his bail at $4 million.
His family declined to comment as they left the courthouse.
Rodden’s father said he was left “broken inside” by the death of his son.
“I have no words that he was murdered in cold blood.!! Life will never be the same without him,” he wrote on social media.
Other friends mourned Rodden as a loyal and adventurous friend.
“Every time My Way would come on the speakers you would talk about how that is the song you want at your funeral, We just never thought it would be this soon,” one wrote on Instagram.
Rodden played football at his school, which is known to have a powerhouse program.
“It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of one of our own, Rocco Rodden,” the school said in a Friday post to Facebook.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Rocco’s family and friends during this incredibly difficult time.”
Bordone’s next court appearance is Nov. 29.
