Trial Begins In Brutal Stabbing Of Woodbridge Man Tony Mocci

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Trial began Tuesday, Jan. 2 in the murder of a well-known Colonia man who was brutally stabbed to death two years ago, allegedly by his own employee, prosecutors say.

Anthony Mocci, known to everyone as Tony, was viciously stabbed to death in his head, chest and back on Jan. 29, 2015. He had been stabbed more than 40 times and was found in a pool of blood in an empty two-family house in Carteret, which Mocci was in the midst of renovating as part of the general contracting business he and his wife ran.

And it was one of his employees who killed Tony Mocci, prosecutors say.

Mocci, 50, lived in the Colonia section of Woodbridge with his wife, Lisa Mocci, and two children. Together, the couple ran Superior Choice LLC. Mocci did the day-to-day contracting and labor, and his wife decided which jobs they took and kept the books. Mocci is the son of prominent Woodbridge developer Ralph Mocci of Mocci Industries, which owns several strip malls in the area.

They hired Adison Trigueno, from Irvington, to do work for them.

According to MyCentralJersey, which is covering the murder trial, Mocci was a tough boss who expected the work to be done right. Prosecutors say Trigueno had money troubles and was four months behind on his rent, owing more than $2,000.

The two men were working together on the home at 78 Essex Street in Carteret on Jan. 29 of that year, except Mocci never returned home that night. It was Trigueno who said he discovered his boss' body the next day, Jan. 30, in a back bedroom at 8:17 a.m. and called 911.

In the days following her husband's death, Lisa Mocci said she found a company check made out to Trigueno for $4,300 that she did not write. Police said the check was deposited in Trigueno's bank account. A tape measure found in Trigueno's car also tested positive for blood and Mocci's DNA, prosecutors with the Middlesex County prosecutor's office said.

Meanwhile, Mocci is mourned by the many people in Woodbridge who knew him:

“Whenever you need a hand, he’s always been there. Construction-wise, he offers opinions, and any kind of help he can,” longtime friend Dennis Dunigan told CBS News. “He’s been a great friend to everybody."

“He’s our neighbor and our friend, and he’s dead. That’s why it’s a shock. I’m grieving for his family,” Marge Dunigan said.

Trigueno is currently on trial for murder in Mocci's death. He is also charged with forgery and theft related to the $4,300 check.

Past Patch reporting on the death of Woodbridge's Tony Mocci:

Homicide Suspected In Death Of 50-Year-Old Carteret Man, Police Say

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