Convictions In Cold Case Murders

Two decades ago, a drug kingpin ordered a hit on two men who had stolen $200,000 from a stash apartment of his in Manhattan. Last week, the Westchester County resident and his hit man were convicted of the murders of Alex Ventura, 25, and Aneudis Almonte, 20.

The convictions follow a three-week trial before U.S. District Judge Kevin P. Castel.

“More than two decades ago, two young men were brutally murdered in a Bronx stairwell," Geoffrey S. Berman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced. "Although the case went cold, members of the NYPD and the FBI worked tirelessly to solve it. A unanimous jury has now held Acosta and Diaz responsible for this terrible crime.”

In the 1990s, Robert Acosta was the leader of a large-scale drug trafficking organization that distributed hundreds of kilograms of cocaine out of several buildings in northern Manhattan.

In the summer of 1997, the murder victims stole more than $200,000 in drug money from a stash apartment that belonged to Acosta. To retaliate, Acosta hired Jose Diaz to kill both men.

On Dec. 22, 1997, DIAZ and a co-conspirator (“CC-1”) lured the victims to an apartment building in the Bronx, ambushed them in a stairwell, and murdered them both. CC-1 stabbed 20-year-old Almonte six times, including once in the chest. Diaz shot Ventura, 25, in the head from point-blank range. In exchange for these murders, Acosta paid Diaz $12,000.

Acosta, 47, of Yonkers was convicted of murder while engaged in a conspiracy to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine (Counts One and Two), conspiracy to commit murder for hire (Count Three), and murder for hire (Counts Four and Five).

Diaz, 53, of the Bronx was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder for hire (Count Three), murder for hire (Counts Four and Five), and the use of a firearm to commit murder in furtherance of a crime of violence (Count Six).

They each face a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD and FBI.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Laurie A. Korenbaum, Michael K. Krouse, and Nicholas W. Chiuchiolo are in charge of the prosecution.