Frank Vallelonga Jr.'s Cause of Death Released After Actor Was Found Dead Outside Factory

By Allison Schonter

Frank Vallelonga Jr., who acted in the Oscar-winning film Green Book, died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl and cocaine. Four months after Vallelonga's body was discovered outside a sheet-metal manufacturing plant in the Bronx, the New York City Medical Examiner's Office on Monday concluded in its autopsy report that his death was caused by "acute intoxication due to combined effects of fentanyl and cocaine," according to the New York Post and the New York Daily News.

The ruling comes after Vallelonga was found dead at 60 at around 3:50 a.m. on Nov. 28 on Oak Point Avenue, an industrial street in Hunts Point. While police shared in a press release at the time that there were "no obvious signs of trauma," police sources said it was likely Vallelonga died of a drug overdose. Police also confirmed that the star's body was tossed out of a vehicle.

Just a day after Vallelonga's body was discovered, Steven Smith, 35, was arrested and charged with concealment of a human corpse. Smith was seen in surveillance footage throwing Vallelonga's body from his car, a spokesperson for the New York Police Department told The Post in December. According to court documents, Smith was driving a Hyundai Elantra. Smith reportedly confessed to the crime while being interrogated, but he denied any involvement in Vallelonga's death, telling authorities, "That dude was dead already. He overdosed, I didn't have anything to do with that." He added, "I got the body out by pulling him out of the car. I don't know the guy at all."

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An arrest warrant was issued for Smith in January after he failed to show up for an appearance at Bronx Criminal Court on charges including concealment of a human corpse, possession of a stolen vehicle, and grand larceny, a spokesperson for the Bronx DA confirming, "A warrant was issued, and when he is picked up, he will be arraigned on an indictment."

Vallelonga was best known for his role in Green Book, which told the story of his father, bouncer Frank Vallelonga, who was known as Tony Lip, and how he was hired to drive Black musician, Dr. Don Shirley, to his tour dates in the South in 1962. Vallelonga played his uncle, Rudy Vallelonga, in the film, which won an Oscar for Best Picture in 2019. Vallelonga also appeared in episodes of The Sopranos, The Neighborhood, and Gravesend. His father, who died in 2013 at 82, appeared in The Sopranos, Goodfellas, The Godfather, and Donnie Brasco.

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