(CNN) It's the stuff of mafia lore -- a doomed target thrown into the depths of the ocean, with his feet encased in cement.

And yet, on an unseasonably cool morning in Brooklyn, a body with so-called "cement shoes" washed ashore this week, igniting the mystery of who committed the crime, and why.

Authorities have identified the body as that of a 28-year-old suspected gang member named Peter Martinez.

Martinez was found wrapped in "black plastic bags, his arms were tied behind him, and his feet were submerged in poured concrete," said New York Police Chief of Department Robert Boyce.

Martinez' head, including his mouth and nostrils, were covered in tape, Lt. Thomas Antonetti said.

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