Bomani Africa, hitman in NJ murder-for-hire case, writes of his gang life in Paterson

Bomani Africa, 62, one of two professed hitmen in a bizarre New Jersey murder-for-hire case, was sentenced in Connecticut on Thursday to 10 years in prison for a string of armed bank robberies he committed in 2014.

Africa is scheduled to be sentenced this Thursday for his role in the killing of Jersey City political operative and candidate Michael Galdieri, who was stabbed to death in May 2014 and whose house was set aflame. Africa and George Bratsenis, an associate he met in New Jersey state prison and had robbed banks with, both pleaded guilty to the murder in early 2022.

Africa was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay nearly $30,000 in restitution and a $300 fine for the bank robberies. Bratsenis had been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for the robberies.

Prosecutors argued that Africa’s guilty plea in the murder-for-hire case shouldn’t be a factor in his sentencing, and said in a sentencing memorandum that Africa had a “difficult childhood.” His father exposed him to alcohol when Africa was 4 years old, “he became enamored by the family of the streets at age 12,” and he left home when he was 15 after seeing a friend accidentally shoot and kill his brother, prosecutors wrote.

“The Government recognizes that whatever sentence Mr. Africa receives for his Connecticut bank robberies, he faces a far longer prison term in the District of New Jersey,” prosecutors wrote.

Africa was first convicted of robbery when he was 18 and has had six robbery convictions, not including the 2014 Connecticut case, but has used his time in prison "productively” and developed “certain medical issues after contracting COVID-19 while incarcerated,” prosecutors wrote.

According to court documents, Africa and Bratsenis robbed a People’s United Bank in Darien, Connecticut, in April 2014, and Africa brandished a gun, jumped over a teller counter and said, “I will shoot you if you don’t give me all your money!”

Five months later, Africa and Bratsenis recruited Africa’s son, Randi Feliciano, and planned to rob another bank. Africa stole a car from someone at gunpoint, and the next day he swiped nearly $30,000 in cash from a Trumbull, Connecticut, bank and set the stolen car on fire, court documents show.

In December 2014, Africa and his son stole $15,000 in cash from a First Niagara Bank in Stratford, Connecticut, records show.

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Africa pleaded guilty to one count of armed bank robbery in December 2015 and has been incarcerated for seven years at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, Rhode Island, where he works on the kitchen staff and spends time reading, writing to family and friends and “acting as a mentor to younger inmates who seem to benefit from someone who has ‘been there’ and ‘done that,’” according to his sentencing memorandum.

'The Story Of My Life!'

In a 14-page autobiography titled “The Story Of My Life!” written in cursive and attached as an exhibit to his sentencing memorandum, Africa, also known as Baxter Keys, described his troubled childhood in Paterson.

Africa’s earliest happy memories are of riding a three-wheeler with a compartment in the back that would hold soda pop and ice cream, with a big block of ice his father bought him to keep his treats cold.

His recollections quickly turn dark: He wrote that his father cut him down from a tree after his family members tied him to it, a rope around his neck. Africa thought they were playing.

A drunken man attacked him and tried to steal his bike, damaging his teeth, he wrote. His mother, after suffering beatings from his father, ran away with Africa and his sister when Africa was 5 years old. His family moved around a lot, to the “worst of the worst areas, high crime and drug areas,” the autobiography says.

He said he began to rebel when he was 11 or 12 years old, skipping school, drinking, and smoking weed and cigarettes.

“I had joined a gang by now," he wrote. Street life had its hooks in him. He turned to harder drugs, dropping acid and using cocaine and heroin.

He started as a lookout for police and was later promoted to driving stolen cars while other gang members committed crimes. He was sent to prison for five years on a bank robbery charge.

“I didn’t care anymore. I was bitter and didn’t care about trying to do the right thing; and it showed,” Africa wrote. “Because four months I was on the run, my act was ... I don’t care if I had lived or died I had truly given up about life at the age of 23 years old.”

After 19 months on the streets, he was incarcerated again, and he served 26 years of a 55-year sentence, he wrote.

“I had made a transformation,” Africa wrote.

He earned his high school diploma and a culinary arts degree, and taught culinary arts in prison. He went home, finished parole cleanly, and spent four years out of prison.

But he struggled to make a living.

He applied for jobs at upscale restaurants and greasy spoons, and though he said he was praised for his credentials, the “26 year gap of being in prison always got me.” Restaurants would say they would call, but the call never came.

“Everything started crashing down on and around me, and I started looking for an escape,” Africa wrote. “Not trying to justify by no means for my actions, but there is always a reasoning/reason for every action,” Africa wrote. “Thinking what I would do/give to have that moment back," he wrote, before he started using drugs and returning to a life of crime.

His autobiography didn’t include any mention of Sean Caddle, the friend and former associate of Michael Galdieri, who pleaded guilty to paying Africa and Bratsenis “thousands of dollars in cash” outside an Elizabeth diner to kill Galdieri.

The sentencing documents filed in the murder-for-hire case are under seal, and NorthJersey.com has requested they be disclosed.

Africa ended with an apology.

“So I apologize to the courts, my victims in my crimes, my family, and ask for you alls forgiveness,” Africa wrote. “I’m not saying this because I got caught, I’m saying this because I ... am remorseful.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bomani Africa, hitman in NJ murder case, writes of Paterson gang life