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Police Continue To Search For Clues 1 Year After Gay Rights Activist Murdered In Queens

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police are pushing for new information nearly a year after a gay rights activist was murdered in Queens.

Louis Rispoli, 62, was viciously beaten by three men at the corner of 42nd Street and Queens Boulevard in Sunnyside on Oct. 20, 2012, police said.

Rispoli was taken to Elmhurst Hospital, but he was so badly injured in the assault that his family decided to take him off life support five days after the beating.

Lou Rispoli
Queens beating victim Lou Rispoli (credit: Handout)

Friends remembered Rispoli as a pillar of the gay community in Queens.

"During the AIDS crisis in the '80s, he was at the bedside of so many men," friend Mark Horn said last October.

In January, authorities released sketches of two men wanted in the violent beating. A description of the third suspect was not available.

Police believe the suspects fled in a white or grey four door sedan with a loud muffler.

A $22,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-8477, visit CrimeStoppers.com or text  tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

All calls are strictly confidential.

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