Pizza Restaurant Murder Aimed To Cover Theft: Indictment

A Manalapan man is accused of hiring a Freehold man to kill a Jackson man to cover up the fact that he had stolen thousands of dollars from the Jackson man, then sought help from a Jackson police officer to cover his involvement, according to indictments handed up in the case Thursday and announced by Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato.

Daniele RomeodiSantillo, 27, of Manalapan and Hector Calderon, 48, of Freehold are facing murder, weapons and conspiracy charges in the April shooting death of Peyman Sanandaji, 34, of Jackson, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the prosecutor’s office. Additionally, RomeodiSantillo and Eric Prosniewski, 45, a Jackson Township police officer, were indicted on charges of hindering the prosecution of RomeodiSantillo, he said.

Prosniewski has been suspended without pay since his arrest, according to a report on NJ.com.

Sanandaji was found shot to death at the defunct Casanova Restorante on South New Prospect Road in Jackson, just after 11 p.m. on April 9, Della Fave said. The investigation revealed Sanandaji was shot during an altercation with Calderon, who was soon found at his South Street apartment in Freehold and arrested April 10, he said. Casanova Restorante is in Romeo’s Plaza in Jackson and was connected to Romeo’s Pizza, according to a report in the News Transcript.

Della Fave said the investigation found that RomeodiSantillo was present at the time of the murder; he was arrested on April 17. Prosniewski was arrested May 14 on charges he gave false information to investigators, authorities said.

The indictment alleges RomeodiSantillo hired Calderon to kill Sanandaji, apparently to cover up the fact that RomeodiSantillo had been stealing from Sanandaji from July 15, 2014 until the date of the murder.

RomeodiSantillo and Calderon both were indicted on charges of first-degree murder and first-degree consipracy to commit murder, as well as two counts each of second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun and possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, according to the indictment. The guns were a .357 Magnum and a .380 Micro Desert Eagle, according to the indictment.

RomeodiSantillo additionally was indicted on a second-degree charge of financial facilitiation of criminal activity; the indictment alleges he ”did direct, organize, finance, plan, manage, supervise, or control the transportation of or transactions in property known or which a reasonable person would believe to be derived from criminal activity in an amount of at least $75,000 but less than $500,000,” according to the indictment.

And RomeodiSantillo was indicted on a second-degree charge of theft by deception, accused of taking $75,000 or more ”by creating or reinforcing the false impression that he was utilizing the monies that Peyman Sanandaji had provided to him in furtherance of their business purposes,” the indictment says.

Prosniewski, a Jackson Township police officer who is suspended, was indicted on charges of hindering apprehension and conspiracy to hinder, according to court documents, Prosniewski is accused of lying to Detective Brian Haggerty from the prosecutor’s office and Jackson Detective Mitch Cowitt about the content of a phone call between himself and RomeodiSantillo and about RomeodiSantillo asking him to find out what kind of person Sanandaji was, according to the doument.

RomeodiSantillo also is accused of lying to Prosniewski when he called to tell him that Sanandaji had been shot, saying only that he was injured.

Calderon remains in the Ocean County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail, according to jail records.

RomeodiSantillo is free on $1 million bail, while Prosniewski is free on $100,000 bail, according to jail records.

The case is being prosecuted by Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Michael Weatherstone.