True Crime Chronicles: Murderer who killed Tulsa woman and a Staten Island man was executed at Big Mac in 1995
- Dennis McCaslin
- 7 hours ago
- 3 min read
Thomas Joseph Grasso was executed by Oklahoma for the 1990 murder of 87-year-old Hilda Johnson in Tulsa and convicted for the 1991 murder of 81-year-old Leslie Holtz in New York.
His case, marked by brutal crimes and a quirky final statement about his last meal, became a political flashpoint and a notable chapter in capital punishment history.
Born in West Babylon, New York, to Joseph and Ruth Grasso, Thomas was nearly named after his older brother, Joseph Thomas, who died at age four in a car accident. A psychic’s warning led his mother to name him Thomas Joseph instead.
The family moved to Tampa, Florida, where Grasso’s criminal record grew, primarily for theft, including stealing from employers.
In October 1990, he and his girlfriend, Lana, moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to stay with her grandmother.
On December 24, 1990, Grasso strangled Hilda Johnson, an 87-year-old widow, in her Tulsa home using Christmas tree lights.
He stole $8 from her purse, $4 in loose change, and her television, sold for $125. Johnson, a neighbor and close friend of Lana’s grandmother, lived alone and was known for her kind, trusting nature, making her an easy target.
Grasso later admitted he killed her to avoid identification, as she might have recognized him through Lana’s family. On July 4, 1991, in Staten Island, New York, he murdered 81-year-old Leslie Holtz, stealing his Social Security check.
New York detectives arrested Grasso for Holtz’s murder, and he confessed to both killings within two weeks. On April 21, 1992, he pleaded guilty in New York, receiving 20 years to life for Holtz’s murder, as New York lacked the death penalty due to vetoes by Governors Hugh Carey and Mario Cuomo.
On September 28, 1992, he pleaded guilty in Oklahoma to Johnson’s murder and was sentenced to death.
Grasso’s case fueled George Pataki's 1994 New York gubernatorial campaign, which criticized Cuomo’s anti-death penalty stance. Eleven days after Pataki’s inauguration, Grasso was extradited to Oklahoma on January 11, 1995, under an agreement with Governor Frank Keating.
He was transported from Buffalo to Tulsa, then to McAlester’s Oklahoma State Penitentiary.
On Oklahoma’s Death Row (H-Unit), Grasso was confined 23 hours daily in a 14-by-18-foot cell, with one hour of exercise and three weekly showers.
He waived appeals, expressing remorse through his attorney, Johnie O’Neal, and a preference for death over life imprisonment, a view his parents supported.
On March 19, 1995, he watched a John Goodman movie and issued four press statements, including a T.S. Eliot quote and a poem, “A Visit with Mystery,” humorously referencing his execution.
His last meal included two dozen steamed mussels, two dozen steamed clams, a Burger King double cheeseburger, six barbecued spare ribs, two strawberry milkshakes, half a pumpkin pie with whipped cream, diced strawberries, and a requested can of SpaghettiOs with meatballs.
His final statement, issued an hour before death, was, “I did not get my SpaghettiOs, I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this.”
On March 20, 1995, at 1:00 a.m., Grasso was strapped to a gurney in Oklahoma State Penitentiary’s execution chamber. Warden Ron Ward received approval from Keating, and lethal injection proceeded.
Grasso gasped four times and was pronounced dead at 1:22 a.m., an execution described as “peaceful” and “quick” by Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz. It was Oklahoma’s fourth execution in five years and the 268th in the U.S. since 1976, notable as only the third case of a white inmate executed for killing a Black person.
Hilda Johnson, Grasso’s Oklahoma victim, was a beloved figure in her Tulsa community. A retired schoolteacher, she lived modestly in the home where she was killed, known for her generosity and involvement in local church activities.
Neighbors described her as frail but independent, often sharing baked goods with those nearby, including Lana’s grandmother. Her murder on Christmas Eve, using festive lights, shocked Tulsa, amplifying calls for justice and contributing to Oklahoma’s push for Grasso’s execution.
Court records indicate her home showed no signs of forced entry, suggesting she may have let Grasso in, unaware of his intent.
