A former cop who shared a cell with Jeffrey Epstein has been convicted of four murders.usa news

former new york When Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide, police officers who shared a prison cell with Jeffrey Epstein executed four men before burying them in a mass grave.

Nicolas Tartaglione faces life in prison after being convicted of the murders of Martin Luna, Urbano Santiago, Miguel Luna and Hector Gutierrez. US Department of Justice Prosecutor Statement.

Tartaglione, 55, first came to national media attention when he was named as a cellmate. Epstein The then-disgraced financier committed suicide in 2019 while he was in federal custody on charges of sex trafficking a 14-year-old girl. In that case, Tartaglione was cleared of any wrongdoing.

However, in the case in which he was just convicted, prosecutors charged Tartaglione with becoming a drug dealer after retiring as a police officer in the suburban community of Briarcliff Manor. new yorkHe suspected Martin Luna stole money from him, then lured him to a meeting about 60 miles north of New York City (Chester) and ambushed him, prosecutors say.

Martin Luna had no idea what Tartaglione was planning, so he showed up with his two nephews, Miguel Luna and Santiago, and a family friend, Gutierrez. Calling it “pure terror,” prosecutors claimed Tartaglione tortured Martin Luna and strangled him with a zip tie while one of his nephews watched.

He and some associates then took Luna’s nephews and friends, forced them to their knees, and killed them by firing bullets in the back of their heads, officials claimed. Tartaglione then buried all four of his men in graves dug on land he had rented before the victims were discovered and charged about eight months later.

The U.S. government lined up three of Tartaglion’s associates to testify against him at Tartaglion’s trial in connection with the murder. Associated PressA fourth colleague, also a former police officer, committed suicide.

After a jury in White Plains, N.Y., found guilty in the case on Thursday, the district’s federal attorney, Damien Williams, issued the following statement: A man who once swore to protect the very community he ravaged. “

Williams’ statement added that the jury sent “a message that no one is above the law.”

Meanwhile, Tartaglione’s attorneys have informed their clients of their intention to file an appeal to the High Court to overturn the conviction against him.

Defense Attorney Bruce Burkett NBC News His side was “deeply disappointed with the verdict” and his client “won’t stop fighting until he gets his freedom”.

“This didn’t end here,” Birkett said in a statement. “It just moves to the next stage, which is the Court of Appeals.”