PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Two men have been arrested and charged in connection to the 2022 murder of a motorcycle gang member, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said.
Vincent Romanino, 42, and 33-year-old Joshualee Garcia were arrested Tuesday on charges of accessory after the fact to first-degree felony murder. The sheriff's office says both men were members of the Mongols motorcycle gang at the time of the killing of 46-year-old Dominick Paternoster.
The investigation began on April 27, 2022, at a home on Dunbridge Drive in Palm Harbor. Deputies said when they arrived at the home, they found Paternoster dead with multiple gunshot wounds.
"Paternoster was not just killed, he was executed," Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said during a press conference at the time.
The sheriff's office said their investigation revealed Paternoster was a member of a motorcycle gang called the Raiders, a smaller gang that fed into the California-based Mongols. Both groups shared the same clubhouse in Tampa.
From there, they determined a member of the Mongols, 49-year-old Paul Mogilevsky planned and carried out shooting and killing Paternoster. But the sheriff's office said they knew others were involved.
Mogilevsky was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
"Mogilevsky and Paternoster were both members of motorcycle gangs, or as they like to call themselves, motorcycle clubs. But that's nonsense because they are not clubs, they're thugs," Gualtieri said at the time.
According to the sheriff, these clubs are known for killing people who cross them, and that's what happened in this case.
He said Mogilevsky and others killed Paternoster on April 27 at his Palm Harbor home because they believed he was a "snitch," providing information to law enforcement about the organization.
"They did what organized crime groups do when they kill people they think are cooperating with the police. They shot Paternoster very dead by shooting him many times, including shooting him in the head," Gualtieri said. "Paternoster was not just killed, he was executed."
Then, in October 2022, deputies said they arrested 36-year-old Dylan Pascale, also a member of the Mongols, and charged him with first-degree murder. Initially, Pascale reportedly told investigators he and another person brought Paternoster home from Tampa and left him sleeping in his reclining chair.
Detectives said they later determined that was a lie. They said they also found shell casings next to Paternoster that contained Pascale's DNA.
After Pascale's arrest, the sheriff's office said their investigation was still ongoing and they were still looking for others connected to Paternoster's murder.
Fast forward to October 2023 — and now Romanino and Garcia are facing charges; Romanino is being held at the Faulkenburg Road Jail and Garcia is being held at the Pasco County Jail.
The sheriff's office said it is still investigating the murder.