Mom of NJ teen killed outside NYC ax-throwing bar claims booze, lax security led to her son’s death

Abundant booze and lax security set the stage for the fatal 2023 stabbing of a New Jersey high school football player outside an NYC ax-throwing bar, his mother contended in new court papers.

Rocco Rodden, 17, was knifed in the heart on Nov. 23, 2023 outside Live Axe in TriBeCa by Long Islander Gianluca Bordone, who admitted the killing in court but was acquitted of manslaughter and assault charges in the case

Rodden’s mother Angelina claimed Live Axe, security company Burns Consulting and others, including bartenders, promoters and a limousine company, set up a perfect storm the night her son was slain.

The companies “failed to provide wristbands to people old enough to drink” and “were required to check the identification documents of all individuals entering the venue, but failed to do so,” she said in her Nov. 21 Manhattan Supreme Court papers, which also name Bordone as a defendant.

The poor security also allowed Bordone, who was 19 at the time of the attack, to bring a pocket knife to the Lafayette Street bar, she alleged.

Bordone, of Oyster Bay, claimed he feared for his life as a group that included the victim chased him down the street and began beating him.

“I was afraid that they would get me to the floor, stomp me, kill me, hit me with the bottle that I had seen before,” he said on the witness stand, according to Newsday.

Bordone also allegedly stabbed Rodden’s older brother, Anthony, outside the bar — where all three were attending a private party, authorities had said.

“It is quite possible that Bordone could have killed Anthony Rodden due to his tortious conduct,” the mother said in the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages.

The promotors, security and others hired to work the event also failed to call authorities after the stabbing, she claimed.

Neither Bordone, nor Live Axe owner Zac Segal and promoter Ian Magid, who are each named in the lawsuit, could be reached for comment. A lawyer for security company Burns Consulting denied any wrongdoing.

“Many horrible tragedies do not result in legal liability and this is one of them,” said Burns Consulting attorney Kenneth Belkin. “My heart goes out to the family of Mr. Rodden for their loss, but this is a frivolous lawsuit against my client.