MASPETH — These were some real bad fellas.
Two men beat staffers at the GoodFellas Diner, breaking a 67-year-old woman's arm and dislocating her shoulder, after they tried to split without paying their $31 bill, one of the victims said.
"Those two guys aren't nice. They should throw them in jail," said the 83-year-old waiter, Michael Diamantis, whom they punched in the face.
The suspects, who'd eaten breakfast in the diner made famous by the 1990 Academy Award-winning mobster flick "Goodfellas," attacked about 7:50 a.m. on Oct. 1 after eating two orders of waffles, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs and orange juice, Diamantis said.
"The two guys came in. They sat at the table Robert De Niro has sat at. I took the order," said Diamantis' wife, Dimitra Diamantis.
They quibbled about the price, thinking everything was part of a single dish, but Dimitra explained that each was separate and charged as a side, she said.
They took out money from an ATM, but went to leave without paying, staff said.
"Who are you: the boss? Let's take it outside," one said to Dimitra.
One of the men, dressed in a gray hoodie and sporting a beard, went to start the car, but the other lagged behind, she said.
"My wife walked after them to collect the money. She followed them out to the steps and said, 'You got to pay!'" her husband said.
"We're not paying nothing!" they replied, according to Michael.
He tried to follow after them, but one of them slugged him in the face, police said.
"It was swollen really bad," Michael said.
Dimitra said to herself "I can't fight them, but I'll get their license plate."
When she tried writing it down, the suspect in a blue jacket grabbed her note pad and shoved her down the steps, breaking her arm and dislocating her shoulder, she and police said.
"I was trembling. I was sweating. People ran to get me up, but my hand was no good," Dimitra said.
Dimitra Diamantis' arm was broken and shoulder dislocated by a man who shoved her down some stairs, her husband said. (DNAinfo/Katie Honan)
The un-wise guys fled in their car south on Rust Street and hadn't been arrested as of Thursday morning, police said.
Dimitra required surgery after the attack and has been shuffled between Elmhurst, New York-Presbyterian and Connecticut hospitals, her husband said.
"She's in very bad shape. She can't work no more," he said.
Dimitra's been distraught and recovering at her Astoria home since the attack.
"I don't know how long it's going to take. I can't lift anything. I can't comb my hair," she said.
The man who broke Dimitra's arm was described as being in his late 20s, weighing about 180 pounds and wearing a blue jacket with dark pants, police said.
The other suspect was described as being the same age and about 20 pounds heavier, wearing a beard with a gray hoodie and gray sweatpants, police said.
They hadn't been arrested as of Thursday morning, but Dimitra hopes they are soon.
"They have to be punished. If they didn't want to pay, just leave. Don't hurt anybody. It's unbelievable," she said.
The diner changed its name in 2001 from Clinton Diner to GoodFellas Diner, more than a decade after Martin Scorsese filmed pivotal scenes there with Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta.
In one, De Niro's character learns that his friend, played by Joe Pesci, has been whacked. In response, De Niro starts hitting and kicking a telephone booth.
"Robert De Niro was sitting in the second booth over there. The telephone both was outside," Diamantis said.
In another, scene, Liotta's character meets De Niro who he suspects will orchestrate his murder during a trip to Florida.
The diner has been featured in 75 movies and television shows over the past two decades, including "Law and Order," "The Good Wife" and ESPN's "30 for 30" documentary franchise, Diamantis noted.
Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477).
