Variety 1/6/82
In an apparent gangland rubout salvo, reputed porno Kingpin, Joseph Peraino Sr. 59, was seriously wounded by shotgun fire Monday night(1/4/82) and his son Joe Jr. 31, was killed. Pair, who lived in the Bensonhurst area of Brooklyn where the shootings occurred, was reportedly gunned down from a passing autos shotgun barrage.
At presstime, Peraino Sr., who has been targeted by Federal authorities as a major pornographer and was arrested in 1980 in connection with the FBI's Mi-porn raid on an allegedly nationwide smut ring, was listed in stable condition, with multiple wounds in the back and buttocks.
An innocent woman, Veronica Zurraw, was killed by a stray shot when the attackers opened fire after the Perainos apparently headed towards her door for safety.
Peraino Sr. was convicted December 5, 1981 by a Federal jury in Miami of one count of conspiracy to transport obscene films across state lines and six counts of interstate shipment of pornography.
Two nephews of the elder Peraino- Joseph Peraino, 48, and brother Louis Peraino, 41 -were also convicted last month(Dec 81) on Federal porn charges stemming from the FBI dragnet in February, 1980. Pair had been instrumental in the original mainstream release of "Deep Throat" and Joseph was a founder of the now- defunct Bryanston Pictures, which made a short- lived stab at big screen legitimacy in the mid-1970's.
The Perainos reputedly are members of the Colombo crime family.