Chain-rob slay a hit job

Cops: Laundermat killing set up by vic’s cousin

A Brooklyn laundromat owner killed in a chain-grab robbery was marked for death by his vengeful cousin, who got the help of a pal to recruit a gang-connected hit squad, prosecutors and law enforcement sources said Thursday.

The cruel details of the Dec. 1 murder of Money Perkins, 37, emerged Thursday, one day after the arrest of five suspects, including a 16-year-old boy.

Shocking video obtained by the Daily News shows a robbery that turned deadly in December in the victim’s laundromat on Clarendon Road near Schenectady Ave. in East Flatbush.

But the incident was no mere robbery gone sideways, authorities said.

The three men and one teenager who shot Perkins had murder on their mind from the start, and they handed over the $60,000 chain to Louis Mercado, 48 — who assembled the robbery team and recruited his own 16-year-old stepson for the killing, prosecutors allege.

Perkins was murdered over a yearslong beef with his cousin, Ronnie Butler, 46, according to law enforcement sources.

When Butler decided to kill Perkins, he went to Mercado, who a law enforcement source described as an “O.G.” — slang for “original gangster.”

Mercado, in turn, recruited his stepson, Zecharyah “Zoota” Slay, 16, and two of Slay’s associates, Shaleek “Zdot” Riddick, 19, and Diante “Dazz” Stinson, 20, according to criminal complaints against the men.

Slay and his buddies are all members of Shoot on Sight, a subset of the Edgemere Bloods, sources said.

Mercado stayed behind while Butler and the others did the deed, prosecutors said.

The four gunmen convened in a deli in Far Rockaway, Queens

— all of the suspects lived in that neighborhood — then piled into a vehicle and headed for Brooklyn, prosecutors allege.

The video shows Perkins’ final moments as he tends to a washing machine inside the East Flatbush laundromat.

Suddenly, four of the crooks burst into the store dressed in black and blue hoodies. One of them pulled a gun. Perkins fought back and wrestled with the gunman until they fell to the ground, at which point the accomplices pulled their own guns.

At least one of the men can be seen firing, and Perkins was shot a number of times in his face and body. Prosecutors believe the fatal bullets were shot from at least two guns.

The crooks then stole the gold chain from Perkins’ neck. Perkins head slammed the ground as one crook tried in vain to yank it off before he decided to lift it over the victim’s head instead.

Prosecutors put that final act of violence on Butler, alleging in criminal complaints that he repeatedly slammed Perkins’ head to the floor.

The killers fled in a white sedan that was later recovered. Police said clothes and cell phones were found during subsequent search warrants, helping them identify the suspects.

Cops found mail addressed to Butler in the car, as well as blood on the emergency brake and the interior of the driver’s side window, Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney David Ingle said at Riddick’s arraignment Thursday.

Slay posted video of himself holding a gun in the car and wearing the same shoes he wore during the killing, Ingle said.

Medics rushed Perkins to Kings County Hospital, but he could not be saved.

The crew gave the necklace to Mercado after the murder, who then sold it, prosecutors said.

Text messages and video show the planning of the murder, and more messages show that Mercado was supposed to pay some of the suspects, according to the criminal complaints.

All five are charged with murder, robbery and conspiracy, and all were ordered held without bail in arraignments in Brooklyn Criminal Court Wednesday and Thursday.

“The horrific and senseless murder of Money Perkins, a loving father, husband, and hardworking entrepreneur, devastated not only his family but the entire community,” Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez said Thursday.

Gonzalez said the suspects are allegedly “responsible for this brutal and callous execution. My heart continues to be with Mr. Perkins’ family and loved ones, and I am committed to holding all those responsible to full account.”

Perkins’ sister, Shanequa Perkins, 40, later told The News he had told her he was going to stop and see her after he checked in on his business.

“He never came back,” she lamented. “They killed him. They assassinated him.”

The victim, she said, “always put everyone before him” and was named Money because that was his father’s nickname. His pricey chain, she said, was something he worked hard for.

“He wasn’t going to let anyone take it just like that,” she said.