BLING DEPT.THE MOBSTER ON THE CEILING

The theft of two tiaras and a crown, among other jewels, from the Louvre last month got some Brooklynites recalling the time, almost seventy-five years ago, when two gem-encrusted crowns were swiped right off the heads of the baby Jesus and his mother in an Italian Renaissance-style basilica in Dyker Heights.

- —Susan Mulcahy

The Louvre thieves dropped the crown as they fled; back in 1952, in Brooklyn, both stolen crowns were returned to the church, Regina Pacis ("Queen of Peace"), in a manila envelope, days after the body of Ralph (Bucky) Emmino, a known jewel thief, was found in Bath Beach, sleeping near the fishes.

It turned out that the wealthy supporter who'd helped raise money to build the church where the 18k.-gold crowns were displayed was likely the same guy who ordered the hit: Joseph Profaci, the "olive-oil king" and boss of the Mob clan that later became the Colombo family.

Not long ago, Profaci's sixty-five-year-old grandson and namesake travelled from his home in SoHo to visit the Brooklyn sanctuary, on a family fact-finding mission. The main item on the agenda: determine if his mobster grandfather is on the ceiling.

Among the church's many design flourishes is a series of overhead murals showing the usual suspects (saints, angels, Mary, a Pope), along with a group of civilians who look as if they wandered in from a Howard Hawks film, in nineteen-forties dresses and suits. The man at the far right, holding a fedora over his heart, is widely believed to be Joe Profaci.