Ex-Cop Faces Life In Prison Over 4 Murders In Orange County

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — A former police officer who worked in Westchester and Dutchess counties before becoming a drug dealer and murderer in Orange County faces a lifetime in federal prison.

Nicholas Tartaglione was convicted last week by a jury who found him guilty of the killings of Martin Luna, Urbano Santiago, Miguel Luna and Hector Gutierrez, plus drug-trafficking conspiracy and kidnapping charges.

His attorney, Bruce Barket, told NBC News he would appeal.

The men were last seen alive in Chester on April 11, 2016, in a bar owned by his brother, at a meeting Tartaglione set up after $200,000 went missing in a cocaine trafficking scheme he and Luna had organized.

"Unaware he was being lured into a deadly trap, Martin tragically brought his two nephews — Miguel and Urbano — and a family friend — Hector — to the meeting," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement after the verdict. "What occurred next could only be described as pure terror, as Tartaglione tortured Martin, then forced one of his nephews to watch as Tartaglione strangled Martin to death with a zip-tie. Tartaglione and two of his associates then transported Miguel, Urbano, and Hector — who were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time — to a remote wooded location, forced them to kneel, and executed them with gunshots to the back of the head. Tartaglione then buried all four victims in a mass grave."

The bodies were found by investigators six months later on property Tartaglione was renting in Mount Hope.

The associates were bodybuilder and school security guard Joseph Biggs of Nanuet and former Haverstraw police officer and strongman competitor Gerard Benderoth, The Journal News reported. Benderoth shot and killed himself after being stopped by FBI agents in Thiells in 2017, TJN reported. Biggs, who has pleaded guilty for his involvement, testified against Tartaglione — which the defense contended was false and extorted by prosecutors in return for promises of leniency.

Tartaglione's time as a prisoner awaiting trial had been full of controversy. At one point he was millionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's cellmate, and there were rumors he had roughed Epstein up, but he was investigated and cleared over Epstein's alleged suicide in his cell.

Tartaglione complained for years about conditions in jail, including filth and bad treatment, and asked several times to be moved, prompting federal Judge Kenneth Karas to demand the Metropolitan Correctional Center fix the problems. SEE: Ex-Briarcliff Cop Says Jail Conditions Worse Since Epstein Died

Tartaglione's time as a Briarcliff Manor cop was full of controversy as well. He was hired by the wealthy Westchester community after stints at Mount Vernon, Yonkers, and Pawling. A confrontation with a village gadfly at a park on the Hudson River reverberated for years of lawsuits. He also fought with the village police department over a case which he had manipulated to get a friend of a friend off a DWI charge. He was a plaintiff or a defendant in four suits with the village. Briarcliff fired Tartaglione over one accusation of misconduct, but Tartaglione sued, won his job back, then retired in 2008 on a disability pension.

The jury's verdict sends a message that no one is above the law, Williams said.

"We commend the career prosecutors and investigators for their relentless pursuit of justice in this case over the past seven years, and for ensuring that Nicholas Tartaglione faces a lifetime in federal prison for his unconscionable murder of four men," Williams said. "Tartaglione’s heinous acts represent a broader betrayal, as he was a former police officer who once swore to protect the very community he devastated.

"Martin Luna, Miguel Luna, Urbano Santiago, and Hector Gutierrez were beloved fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons," he said. "Most of all, we thank the victims’ families for trusting law enforcement to find their loved ones and see that justice was done.”