"It was there, according to prosecutors, that 49-year-old retired cop turned cocaine dealer Nicholas Tartaglione lured four men, at least one Martin Luna with ties to the Mexican mafia. Tartaglione suspected Luna had stolen $250,000 from him and planned to confront him. Luna, 41, brought along two nephews and a family friend. Tartaglione allegedly forced one of Luna's nephews to observe as he beat and strangled Luna to death with a zip tie."
"Tartaglione and two others then took Luna's body, along with Miguel Luna, Urbano Santiago and Hector Gutierrez, to his dog and equine animal sanctuary in Otisville, New York. The three surviving men were forced to kneel and were shot in the head, execution-style, and all four buried in a mass grave. Nine months later, after investigators connected Tartaglione to Luna, the bodies were unearthed."
"A neighbor said Tartaglione's property smelled like death. Tartaglione was arrested and charged with kidnapping and murder. But it wasn't until 2023 that the bodybuilder, who had a patchy career as a police officer, was convicted and sentenced to four consecutive life sentences for the killings. He'd pleaded not guilty, claiming that he'd been framed."
"But in that time, while held at the now-abandoned metropolitan corrections center in Manhattan, Tartaglione was placed in the same cell as Epstein, the notorious sex trafficker whose scandal as roiled American politics. It was later reported they gotten along pretty well as cellmates. But after Epstein was found"
Nicholas Tartaglione, a retired cop turned cocaine dealer, lured four men to the Likquid Lounge in Chester, New York, in April 2016. Martin Luna, suspected of stealing $250,000, arrived with two nephews and a family friend. Tartaglione allegedly beat and strangled Luna with a zip tie while forcing one nephew to watch. Tartaglione and others then transported Luna’s body and additional victims to Tartaglione’s dog and equine sanctuary in Otisville, New York. The surviving men were forced to kneel, shot in the head execution-style, and all four were buried in a mass grave. Investigators later connected Tartaglione to the killings, unearthed the bodies nine months afterward, and he was convicted in 2023, receiving four consecutive life sentences. While held in Manhattan, Tartaglione was placed in the same cell as Jeffrey Epstein.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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