A pair of gunmen calmly walked up to the bar at world-famous Rao’s Italian Restaurant in East Harlem last night – and opened fire on two men who were drinking there.
The most seriously injured man, who was hit in the back, “fell down at the bar, his eyes rolled back in his head,” a source told The Post.
“He went into traumatic arrest.”
Cops described him only as a white man in his 50s. He was fighting for his life at Metropolitan Hospital.
The other victim, a white man in his 30s, was shot in the foot.
“He stumbled over to a table and sat down,” the source said.
He was in stable condition at Metropolitan.
It was not clear how long the hit men had been in the restaurant before at least one of them drew his .38 revolver and opened fire.
One of the gunmen was dressed in a black button-down shirt and khaki pants. The other wore a black T-shirt and black leather jacket.
After the attempted hit, they ran out of the restaurant – but two cops on routine patrol in a radio car either heard the shots or were flagged down.
They jumped out and took both suspects into custody.
The small restaurant is so popular, it’s almost impossible to get a reservation without being someone – or at least knowing someone.
Some celebrities who frequent the place, like movie producer and former NYPD Detective Sonny Grosso, screenwriter Nick Pileggi and former Sen. Al D’Amato all have regular tables at least one night a week.
It was not known if any bold-face names were dining there last night when the bullets started flying.
Rao’s food has gotten such rave reviews, the restaurant now sells its famous sauce in supermarkets.
Customers don’t bother telling the waiters what they want – they’re told what they can order.
Rao’s was founded in 1896 by Charles Rao, who bought a small saloon at the corner of East 114th Street and Pleasant Avenue.
Rao died in 1909, and his brother Joseph took over the eatery until his death in 1930.
Ownership passed to Joseph’s sons, Louis, who died in 1958, and Vincent, who died in 1999.
Vincent’s wife, Anna Pellegrino Rao, joined the business in 1974.
Her nephew Frank Pellegrino and Vincent’s nephew Ron Straci now co-own the restaurant.
Pellegrino is also an actor who plays FBI agent Frank Cubitosi on HBO’s hit show “The Sopranos.”
He also has appeared in the films “Goodfellas” and “Manhattan Murder Mystery,” and the TV series “New York Undercover.”