Jabberwocky
Frumious Bandersnatch
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Retired Westchester cop charged with killing four in cocaine deal after bodies dug up on his property
An ex-Westchester cop faced charges of executing four men in a cocaine deal as investigators dug up evidence on his sprawling upstate farm — a quartet of bodies, authorities said Tuesday.
Sources told the Daily News that Nicholas Tartaglione, 49, whacked the four at an Orange County bar this past April when the deal for 5 kilos of cocaine went south.
He then allegedly took the 30-minute car ride north from the Likquid Lounge in Chester to his home and buried the bodies there.
Investigators used a backhoe to excavate the bodies Tuesday afternoon on the 178-acre Otisville property, where local residents noticed a horrific stench in recent days. The remains were not immediately identified.
“I go to my chicken coop, and I see the backhoe digging, and it scares me because now I know what they’re digging for,” said neighbor Kerri-Ann Lynch, 45. “I’d have never suspected this.
One local acquainted with Tartaglione echoed Lynch’s tale of a bad odor coming from the property.
“It really smelled of death, but then it disappeared after a couple of days,” the neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said.
The ex-cop was arraigned in Manhattan Federal Court for killing Martin Luna, 41; Urbano Santiago, 32; Miguel Luna, 25, and Hector Gutierrez, 43, as part of his involvement in a drug conspiracy, officials said.
“When the alleged perpetrator of a gangland-style, quadruple homicide is a former police officer, that strikes at the heart of civilized society,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.
The two Lunas and Santiago, all related, and Gutierrez, a family friend, were last seen alive on the afternoon of April 11 at a Chester diner.
A relative of the Lunas was too distraught to discuss the killings once the bodies had been unearthed.
Felipe Luna, 51, “can’t talk right now,” his wife, Marcela Sosa, told The News.
“We lost so many loved ones in one incident. It’s sad. He’s not doing well.”
Chester police, at the time of the victims’ disappearance, said the missing men frequented a farm in Wallkill and worked in construction or farming.
“These brutal murders are prime examples of the dangerous crimes that are associated with drug distribution,” said New York State Police Superintendent George Beach. “Narcotics destroy communities and put lives at risk.”
Tartaglione is charged with murder, drug conspiracy and a host of other raps.
He could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole, officials said.
Tartaglione retired from the force in October 2008 with an annual pension of $65,176. His father, Nicholas Tartaglione Sr., told The News his son was innocent of the murders.
“It’s not true — absolutely not,” he said. “He’s the best kid in the world. It’s a serious thing. They just said that they found four bodies.
“I don’t know. I wish I did know."
Tartaglione purchased the Eleazer Harding Farm in Otisville for more than $500,000, moving in last year with his girlfriend, according to a source.
The couple departed suddenly about two months ago, even after he bought 20 horses at a livestock auction and decorated the site with large wood sculptures of a deer and a bear, the source said.
“Basically, he was here and all of a sudden he was gone,” the source said. “Now this is going on and it all makes sense.”
The Lunas’ niece Alondra Castro, 21, said Martin was a generous man who worked in construction.
“He was nice,” she said. “He helped everyone in the family. He helped them in anything.”
The musclebound Tartaglione retired from the Briarcliff Manor Police Department after a somewhat sketchy career. He was charged with lying under oath to protect a woman busted for drunken driving in 1999 — and placed on indefinite suspension despite an acquittal the next year. He won $320,000 in back pay and returned to the department after filing a 2002 lawsuit.
He had briefly worked as a cop for police departments in Pawling, Dutchess County, and Mount Vernon before his time in Briarcliff Manor.
Tartaglione was the target of an FBI civil rights investigation for physically abusing several people, including public access television host Clay Tiffany. The town settled with the now-deceased Tiffany for $1 million.
Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...harged-killing-cocaine-deal-article-1.2917469
An ex-Westchester cop faced charges of executing four men in a cocaine deal as investigators dug up evidence on his sprawling upstate farm — a quartet of bodies, authorities said Tuesday.
Sources told the Daily News that Nicholas Tartaglione, 49, whacked the four at an Orange County bar this past April when the deal for 5 kilos of cocaine went south.
He then allegedly took the 30-minute car ride north from the Likquid Lounge in Chester to his home and buried the bodies there.
Investigators used a backhoe to excavate the bodies Tuesday afternoon on the 178-acre Otisville property, where local residents noticed a horrific stench in recent days. The remains were not immediately identified.
“I go to my chicken coop, and I see the backhoe digging, and it scares me because now I know what they’re digging for,” said neighbor Kerri-Ann Lynch, 45. “I’d have never suspected this.
One local acquainted with Tartaglione echoed Lynch’s tale of a bad odor coming from the property.
“It really smelled of death, but then it disappeared after a couple of days,” the neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said.
The ex-cop was arraigned in Manhattan Federal Court for killing Martin Luna, 41; Urbano Santiago, 32; Miguel Luna, 25, and Hector Gutierrez, 43, as part of his involvement in a drug conspiracy, officials said.
“When the alleged perpetrator of a gangland-style, quadruple homicide is a former police officer, that strikes at the heart of civilized society,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.
The two Lunas and Santiago, all related, and Gutierrez, a family friend, were last seen alive on the afternoon of April 11 at a Chester diner.
A relative of the Lunas was too distraught to discuss the killings once the bodies had been unearthed.
Felipe Luna, 51, “can’t talk right now,” his wife, Marcela Sosa, told The News.
“We lost so many loved ones in one incident. It’s sad. He’s not doing well.”
Chester police, at the time of the victims’ disappearance, said the missing men frequented a farm in Wallkill and worked in construction or farming.
“These brutal murders are prime examples of the dangerous crimes that are associated with drug distribution,” said New York State Police Superintendent George Beach. “Narcotics destroy communities and put lives at risk.”
Tartaglione is charged with murder, drug conspiracy and a host of other raps.
He could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole, officials said.
Tartaglione retired from the force in October 2008 with an annual pension of $65,176. His father, Nicholas Tartaglione Sr., told The News his son was innocent of the murders.
“It’s not true — absolutely not,” he said. “He’s the best kid in the world. It’s a serious thing. They just said that they found four bodies.
“I don’t know. I wish I did know."
Tartaglione purchased the Eleazer Harding Farm in Otisville for more than $500,000, moving in last year with his girlfriend, according to a source.
The couple departed suddenly about two months ago, even after he bought 20 horses at a livestock auction and decorated the site with large wood sculptures of a deer and a bear, the source said.
“Basically, he was here and all of a sudden he was gone,” the source said. “Now this is going on and it all makes sense.”
The Lunas’ niece Alondra Castro, 21, said Martin was a generous man who worked in construction.
“He was nice,” she said. “He helped everyone in the family. He helped them in anything.”
The musclebound Tartaglione retired from the Briarcliff Manor Police Department after a somewhat sketchy career. He was charged with lying under oath to protect a woman busted for drunken driving in 1999 — and placed on indefinite suspension despite an acquittal the next year. He won $320,000 in back pay and returned to the department after filing a 2002 lawsuit.
He had briefly worked as a cop for police departments in Pawling, Dutchess County, and Mount Vernon before his time in Briarcliff Manor.
Tartaglione was the target of an FBI civil rights investigation for physically abusing several people, including public access television host Clay Tiffany. The town settled with the now-deceased Tiffany for $1 million.
Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...harged-killing-cocaine-deal-article-1.2917469
