COP HELD IN 4 SLAYS
‘Gangland’ murder in drug deal gone bad: Preet
A retired Westchester County cop murdered four men — at least two of whom were just in the wrong place at the wrong time — in a “gangland-style’’ crime, authorities said Tuesday.
Nicholas Tartaglione, who worked as an officer in Briarcliff Manor and Mount Vernon, as well as in upstate Pawling, was arrested for killing the men during an April drug deal gone awry, officials said.
“While all murders tear at the fabric of our communities, when the alleged perpetrator of a ganglandstyle quadruple homicide is a former police officer, that strikes at the heart of civilized society,” Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara said Tuesday.
The victims’ bodies were recovered Tuesday afternoon, a day after Tartaglione’s arraignment.
They were found buried on property in the Orange County town of Otisville, where Tartaglione had been renting a place, according to Peter Graziano, the police chief in neighboring Chester, where the killings occurred.
The victims were identified as Martin Santos-Luna, 41, Urbano Morales-Santiago, 32, Miguel SosaLuna, 25 — all relatives — and Hector Gutierrez, 43, a family friend.
They had been at the Likquid Lounge, which the suspect’s brother owns, on April 11, authorities said.
The four men worked together as laborers and were last seen that day in a Chevy Equinox in the bar’s parking lot, Graziano said.
The murders occurred during “a conspiracy to distribute cocaine” in which Tartaglione, 49, and others had been engaged between June 2015 and April 2016, officials said.
Authorities believe that at least two or three of the victims had nothing to do with the drug deal and “just happened to be there,” Graziano said.
Prosecutors were mum on how the four victims were killed.
The beefy suspect pleaded not guilty to the five counts against him at his arraignment in White Plains federal court and was held without bail.
“You have a person who has taken an oath and swore to uphold the law and has taken to illegal activity,” Graziano said. “It’s pretty devastating, particularly to a small community like this.”
Tartaglione served as a cop in Mount Vernon and Pawling before joining the Briarcliff Manor force in 1996, the Journal News reported.
He retired in 2008 on a disability but applied for a job with Mount Vernon this year.
Tartaglione was fired by the Briarcliff Manor department after being accused of perjury related to a drunk-driving arrest he’d made, according to the Journal News.
He was acquitted of the charges and, in 2003, successfully sued to get his job back, along with $320,000 in back pay.
Tartaglione’s lawyer did not return messages seeking comment.