Giovanni Gallina (left) in an obituary photo, Anna Maria Tolomello (right) after pleading guilty (WCAU/screengrab)
The owner of a pizzeria in Pennsylvania, who was accused more than two years ago of shooting her business partner and boyfriend with a Smith & Wesson .38 Special “LadySmith” revolver, leading to his death, admitted to the murder just before her trial was set to start on Monday.
Anna Maria Tolomello, now 50, was known in Bucks County as the owner and operator of Pina’s Pizza in Chalfont along with 65-year-old Giovanni Gallina, sometimes referred to as her “paramour” and common-law husband.
According to the criminal complaint in her case, Tolomello did not deny shooting Gallina when authorities came to arrest her, but she did assert that she shot him in self-defense. However, Tolomello has now pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Third-degree murder is a charge that only exists in only three states, and Pennsylvania is one of them. It covers “[a]ll other kinds of murder” that do not rise to the level of first- or second-degree murder.
In this instance, Tolomello was accused of shooting Gallina in mid-March 2022, wrapping up his body in a tarp in her bedroom, and concealing the victim’s remains for 13 days. During this time, Gallina’s son, Phillip Gallina, who lives in Italy, contacted Tolomello after becoming concerned that his father had stopped communicating with him on WhatsApp.
The DA’s office stated that the investigation was initiated after Phillip Gallina disclosed Tolomello’s explanations for his father’s whereabouts. She claimed that Giovanni had left his cell phone at the pizzeria despite being “away on business” and did not specify where he was going or for how long.
Anna Maria Tolomello (Bucks County DA)
Further arousing suspicion, authorities revealed that Tolomello had sought advice on March 18, 2022, for dealing with a “skunk in her garage.”
Phillip Gallina informed investigators that the last time he heard from his father was on March 16, 2022. By March 29, 2022, investigators were closely monitoring the suspect and used a “cooperating subject” or “CS” to assist in apprehending her.
Tolomello not only paid CS $350 in cash to help excavate a hole on her property — a hole that was coincidentally the appropriate dimensions for a shallow grave for a 5’6″ adult male — but she was also observed and recorded on March 29 telling CS “He [Gallina] is away,” as stated in the complaint. A search warrant was executed on the same day, and Tolomello claimed self-defense, alleging that she shot the victim “in his left temple while he was strangling her in the bed inside their master bedroom.”
“Police told her to stop talking,” the complaint said, before authorities found Gallina’s body wrapped in a “bundle.”
As Law&Crime reported at the time of the defendant’s arrest, Pina’s Pizza customers had previously written very positive comments about Tolomello’s interactions with customers and the pizzeria’s "excellent" food.
Local WCAU cameras from NBC affiliate captured the events on Monday when Tolomello suddenly pleaded guilty. All dressed in prison clothes and handcuffed, Tolomello remained silent as she was taken from the courthouse to a Bucks County Sheriff’s Office squad car.
The sentencing is scheduled for June 25. Tolomello will reportedly potentially receive a prison sentence of 18 to 40 years.
Giovanni Gallina, fondly known as “The Boss,” is survived by three children and two grandchildren.