By LIZ GOFF

It was just another Wendy’s restaurant, one of dozens in Queens, with yet another crew working another night shift.

There was Jean, the assistant manager who had, earlier that day, asked his brother to be the best man at his wedding. He had dreams of going back to college, starting his own company.

"Now I know what I want to do with my life," he told his brother.

And Anita, eating salads to stay slim, and excited about starting college in September. She remembered customer’s favorite foods, gracefully accepted jabs about her chubby cheeks and was training for a career working with autistic children.

"If you have Anita for a friend, you have the best friend in the world," said Pamela Truman, unable to speak of her granddaughter in past tense.

There was Ramon, whose greatest joys were moments spent with his family. He loved to "down a brew" while keeping an eye on a backyard barbecue. He loved dancing salsa, merengue – anything.

"Where he was, it’s an empty space now," said his brother Benjamin.

They were part of the Queens melting pot. They came from different neighborhoods, backgrounds – but they all came to the Main Street restaurant on their way to a brighter future. They would do so by salting the fries, checking the salad bar, mopping the floors.

Jeremy Mele graduated from high school in June, 1999. Mele moved to Queens from New Jersey after graduation and was "making it" on his own.

"His pride and joy was his independence," said his younger brother, Joshua.

And there was Ali Ibadat, remembered by friends in Ridgewood as a hard-working man who toiled to send money home to his wife and children in Pakistan.

"He worked seven days a week, all year round," said Abdul Waheed, his closest friend.

Late on Wednesday night, May 24, 2000, the closing-time routine of Jean Auguste, Anita Smith, Ramon Nazario, Jeremy Mele, Ali Ibadat and two co-workers, Ja Quione Johnson and Patrick Castro was interrupted. They soon found themselves bound and gagged, forced to lay in pairs face-down on the floor of a basement freezer at the restaurant. With plastic bags tied over their heads, they felt the gun. And the Main Street restaurant would never be just another Wendy’s, ever again.

Johnson, who was gravely injured, survived brain surgery and continues to recover. And Patrick Castro, the Flushing boy-turned-hero, is recovering from his wounds. He remains under police protection, his life threatened by "friends" of the massacre mastermind.

The massacre site as it appears today (top) and (bottom) shrouded by flowers in the days following the murders. Tribune Photos by Ira Cohen

Castro, who was shot through his cheeks, worked for 90 minutes to free himself from the duct tape that bound him. Despite his wounds, he managed to call 911 from a fax phone in the basement. "We’re in the basement," he said. "We’re locked in." Castro then untied Johnson and carried him to the street level, where police found the pair, laying near a counter. Johnson was being cradled by Castro, who, according to police, was in such shock that he did not realize he’d been shot.

As paramedics rushed to save Johnson’s life, Castro waved away help for himself, telling police, "There are people in the basement who need your help more than I do."

Thirty-six hours later, Queens detectives had John Taylor, the mastermind, and his accomplice, Craig Godineaux, in custody. Both men subsequently blamed each other for the murders, then confessed.

Godineaux, whose confession of ghoulish acts following the murders that shocked the most hardened investigators, received five life sentences (without parole) on Feb. 21 for his part in the crimes. He avoided a possible death sentence by claiming that he is mentally retarded. Godineaux is currently housed at the Downstate Correctional Facility, where he will be evaluated and a state correctional facility will be chosen to house him – for the rest of his life.

Taylor, still facing the death penalty, is currently residing at Rikers Island in 23-hour lockup. He was transferred recently from the Manhattan "tombs" after his part in an attempted inmate breakout branded him a high-security risk. Taylor’s trial is expected to begin in early 2002.

The victims of the Wendy’s massacre have been remembered in many ways, from a tree planting at the Queens Botanical Gardens, to the mountains of flowers that were placed outside the restaurant by anonymous mourners in the days following the massacre.

Quality Services for the Autistic Community will present it’s first annual Anita Smith Memorial Scholarship on June 28.

The organization where Anita Smith worked as a volunteer established the fund in her memory.

The group will present a $1,000 check to its recipient – an individual who is pursuing the same career Smith was striving toward.

And on Thursday, May 24, Ben Wong, (the new owner of the restaurant site), will present an $18,000 check to Gary Strong, Director of the Queens Library. The donation will fund an after school program at the Main Street Library, in memory of the victims.

Wong said that he felt he "just had to do something" on the anniversary of the massacre to honor the victims’ memories. Wong also stipulated that any new business could not reopen at the site until the anniversary had passed.

Benjamin Nazario, still deeply grieving his brother’s death, has vowed to muster support from local politicians to change a portion of the 1995 Death Penalty Statute. Nazario wants to eliminate or change the loophole in the law that paved the way for Craig Godineaux to avoid the death penalty.

Linda Pardo, fiancé of Jean Auguste, told the Tribune, "I wake up everyday and think of him. I would do anything to have him back."

Babbette Mele, sister of Jeremy, said she is angry at Godineaux’s plea. "He (Godineaux) deprived the world of the greatest person," she said.

Her message to Godineaux: "I can only hope and pray for the day you will be dead."

One year after her daughter’s death, Jean Truman Smith can only be described as heartbroken.

"I wish I could feel her embrace me with one more hug," Smith said. "With one more kiss."

Wendy’s officials decided, out of respect for the victims, to not reopen the restaurant at 40-12 Main St. The storefront was purchased last December by Wong, who has sub-let it to a group of retailers who are renovating it for use as a mini-mall.

"For all my life, I have been against the death penalty," Smith said, adding that the murder of her daughter and the other victims has "changed her thinking."

"I know that somewhere there is a God who cares," she said. "These men (Taylor, Godineaux) will be judged by that God."

Although all signs of the restaurant are now long-gone, curiosity seekers and passers-by still pause, whispering thoughts and offering prayers for the victims.

An elderly Asian woman stood outside the site on Saturday, May 19, praying for peace for the victim’s spirits. The woman raised her head slowly, then peered into the brilliant sunlight.

"Mariposa (butterfly)," she said, putting her hands together, then gently opening and closing them. She pointed to a narrow piece of plywood nailed to the front of the storefront, where an orange and black butterfly sat, slowly flapping its wings. Seconds later, it flew away.

The woman again peered into the sun. "Peace," she said.

Confessed Wendy’s massacre gunman Craig Godineaux offered an apology to the families of his victims on the anniversary of the murders.

Godineaux, through his Capital Defense Legal Aid Attorney Colleen Brady, said:

"I know my apology to the families will never bring their loved ones back."

"I do deserve what I got," Godineaux said. "I don’t expect nobody to accept my apology, what I did was wrong.

"I had no business being there," he added. "I want to give the families my apology and tell them that I know I deserve life in jail."