A retired Briarcliff Manor police officer was arrested and charged in White Plains Federal Court Monday in a five-count indictment, including a quadruple homicide and conspiracy to distribute cocaine. The four bodies allegedly killed by ex-cop Nicholas Tartaglione were recovered Tuesday on property he rented in Orange County.
Tartaglione, 49, is faced with an indictment including conspiracy to distribute at least 5 kilograms of cocaine from June 2015 up to April 2016 and the “gangland-style, quadruple homicide” of four men, “some of whom were just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District.
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Tartaglione faces a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life on the drug conspiracy charge and a minimum of 20 years and the possibility of the death penalty or life in prison on each of the murder charges. Federal prosecutors will determine whether to seek the death penalty in the case.
Tartaglione pleaded not guilty to the charges in court on Monday, and remains in custody.
FBI and state police searched Tartaglione’s property on Old Mountain Road in Otisville for the remains of Martin Luna, Urbano Santiago, Miguel Luna, and Hector Gutierrez, previously thought missing since April when they were allegedly killed in the vicinity of Likquid Lounge in Chester. According to Lohud, Likquid Lounge is run by Tartaglione’s brother.
“I hope the victims’ families can find some peace and closure as a result of this arrest,” Chester Police Chief Peter Graziano said.
