A former Westchester County, New York, police officer was sentenced Monday to four consecutive life sentences for orchestrating the kidnapping and murder of four people as part of a cocaine trafficking conspiracy, federal prosecutors announced.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas convicted Nicholas Tartaglione, age 56, of Otisville, of kidnapping and murdering Martin Luna, Urbano Santiago, Miguel Luna and Hector Gutierrez on April 11, 2016. U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York SaidTartaglione committed the murders “inside and outside” a bar called the Liquid Lounge in Chester, the suit said. Court DocumentsHe was reportedly convicted of “11 counts of murder, four counts of kidnapping resulting in death, one count of kidnapping conspiracy and one count of drug conspiracy,” according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.
According to a statement from the prosecutor’s office, Tartaglione kidnapped Martin Luna, then 41, and held him captive and assaulted him for over an hour because he believed Luna had “stole approximately $250,000 intended for a cocaine purchase.” Tartaglione lured Martin Luna to a meeting where the victim unknowingly brought his two nephews, Miguel Luna and Santiago, and a family friend, Gutierrez, and kidnapped him. according to U.S. Attorney Damien Williams. (Related: Officer arrested for running methamphetamine lab out of home, authorities say)
Prosecutors allege that after Tartaglione received no answers from Martín Luna about the whereabouts of the missing money, he “strangled Martín to death with a zip tie.”
Williams added that one of his nephews was forced to watch the strangulation.
Tartaglione and two other accomplices then took Miguel Luna, Santiago and Gutierrez “to a secluded wooded area, forced them to their knees and shot them in the back of the head, killing them,” Williams said.
Prosecutors also argued that the three were killed because “they witnessed Mr. Martin’s murder and were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Prosecutors said Tartaglione “buried all four victims in a mass grave on the grounds of his secluded home in Otisville. The FBI reportedly discovered the grave in December 2016.”
Prosecutors said Santiago, Martin’s nephew-in-law, was 35 at the time of his death. Miguel Luna was reportedly 25 and Gutierrez 43. Many of their families reportedly attended Tartaglione’s trial.
Tartaglione is a former Briarcliff Manor police officer. According to the prosecutorHe was also once a cellmate of notorious financier Jeffrey Epstein, ABC News reports. report.
According to a statement from the prosecutor’s office, Judge Karas described Tartaglione as a “monster” and “ruthless.”
“I did nothing of the sort and I have proof that I can return home,” Tartaglione said. News 12 Long Island Exclusive The defendant was released from a Manhattan jail on June 6, four days before the verdict was handed down. All four victims were immigrants, the media reported.
Williams called Tartaglione’s actions “reprehensible crimes,” and the prosecutor’s office said in a statement that “today’s four consecutive life sentences fairly reflect the pain and anguish the victims suffered at the hands of Tartaglione. We hope these sentences will bring some closure to the victims’ families and the community.”
