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Bellmore native a victim of crane accident

This story was reported by Patrick Falby and staff writers Gregg Sarra, Patrick Whittleand Christine Armario. It was written by Sarra and Whittle. | Newsday Staff Writers

March 18, 2008

Santino Gallone was moonlighting from his regular construction job Saturday afternoon, perched near the top of a crane when it collapsed and crushed a town house on Manhattan's East Side, friends of the Huntington Station resident said.

Gallone -- "Santy" to everyone who knew him and the father of an 18-month-old daughter -- was identified yesterday as one of the seven people who died in the collapse.

Gallone, a Bellmore native who starred on the Wellington C. Mepham High School and Fordham University baseball teams in the late 1980s and early 1990s, was 37.

The news of Gallone's death devastated family members and friends who grew up with him, as well as his wife, Jessica, who had held out hope that he had survived the crash.

Jessica Gallone had waited since the collapse across the street in a Starbucks while crews searched for bodies, said Dan Bacheller, a friend and co-worker of Gallone's who lives in Massapequa Park. When Gallone's body was located in the rubble of the town house, construction workers held up their hard hats in a salute to Gallone and used their bodies to attempt to shield Jessica from onlookers, Bacheller said.

Gallone's father, Nino Gallone, of Bellmore, described his son as "a good worker" who "provided for his family" by taking on extra jobs.

"I am very proud of my son and all that he accomplished in his life. He did so many good things. And he was so happy to be a father," said Nino Gallone, alluding to his son's 18-month-old daughter, Giuliana.

Bacheller, 38, said he had known Gallone for 21 years and knew him as "a standup guy who loved his family most of all." Bacheller was scheduled to work at the East Side site Saturday with Gallone, but called in sick because his wife was ill, he said Monday.

"Sometimes I wish I was there just to see if there was something else I could've done differently. Maybe a different set of eyes could have seen something," Bacheller said.

Gallone graduated from Mepham High in 1988 and Fordham in 1992. He was inducted into the university's Athletics Hall of Fame and was twice named Patriot League player of the year.

He later signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1994 and batted .282 for the club's Spartanburg, S.C., affiliate before signing with its Clearwater, Fla., affiliate.

"I can't believe it, oh my God," said Sal Agostinelli, the director of international scouting for the Philadelphia Phillies, who signed Gallone as a free agent in 1994. "I loved Santy; everybody did. What a great guy."

Gallone was an infielder for two years in the Phillies organization before an injury ended his career.

Friends and family members remembered Gallone as a dynamic person who was the life of every party.

Shane Pallotta, a friend since the 12th grade, said, "Gallone was this slick athletic type that was always holding court," who "was very funny" and "had a great sense of humor."

Gallone lived in a remodeled two-story home on a quiet residential street. Mary O'Hara, who lives next door, said Gallone and his wife moved in five to six years ago when the place was a shambles and refurbished it dramatically -- adding siding and updating the landscaping.

They were "the kind of neighbors you want to have," O'Hara said.

Pallotta said wake and funeral arrangements were still being made late yesterday. The wake will likely be held today and tomorrow, followed by the funeral on Thursday, he said.