Dennis Malvasi

Was mugged by three men on his way home from a theater rehearsal in 1973, and severely stabbed. When he returned to the streets, he always carried a gun. He made no secret of it to anyone, except his probation officer.

[on living in Brooklyn as a teenager] To come to East New York from a foster home run by Christians was a shock. I constantly caught beatings from black people for no reason. The whites used to beat me up too, because they thought I was Puerto Rican due to my dark hair. The whole neighborhood was brutal.