Ex-Briarcliff Cop Charged in 4 Homicides

BRIARCLIFF MANOR, NY — Nicholas Tartaglione, a former Briarcliff Manor police officer, has been indicted for a quadruple murder connected to drug trafficking. He was arrested Monday and charged in White Plains federal court, said Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

The quadruple murder was committed in Chester, New York, in April 2016. Tartaglione was charged in a five-count indictment for his participation in a conspiracy to distribute five kilograms and more of cocaine and for the murders of Martin Luna, Urbano Santiago, Miguel Luna and Hector Gutierrez — some of whom, police say, were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Chester PD Chief Peter Graziano Jr. said he hoped the arrest would bring some peace and closure to the victims' families.

"While all murders tear at the fabric of our communities, when the alleged perpetrator of a gangland-style, quadruple homicide is a former police officer, that strikes at the heart of civilized society," Bharara said in a press release. "As alleged, Nicholas Tartaglione, a former Briarcliff Manor police officer, participated in the senseless murder of four people in a bar in Chester, New York. These four men had not been seen or heard from since the day of their alleged murder.”

Tartaglione's time as a Briarcliff Manor cop was full of controversy. A confrontation with village gadfly Clay Tiffany at Scarborough Park 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.

Now 49, he lives in Otisville, New York.

Tartaglione faces four counts of murder in furtherance of a narcotics conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. The murder counts carry a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison or the death penalty. The drug conspiracy count carries a minimum 10-year sentence and a maximum of life in prison.

The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

As alleged in the indictment filed today in White Plains federal court:

From June 2015 up to April 2016, TARTAGLIONE and others conspired to sell five kilograms or more of cocaine. In April 2016, TARTAGLIONE participated in the killing of Martin Luna, Urbano Santiago, Miguel Luna, and Hector Gutierrez in furtherance of that cocaine distribution conspiracy, some of whom were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The murders all took place in and around a bar called the Likquid Lounge in Chester, New York.

Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI, the New York State Police and the Village of Chester Police Department. He also thanked the City of Middletown Police Department for its assistance in the case.

“I am grateful for the hard work everyone put into this case and the cooperation of the agencies involved," Graziano said. "This unspeakable crime shows how destructive the drug trade is and why we must all endeavor to continue the fight. This scourge is not limited to large urban areas, but small rural ones as well.”

This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Maurene Comey and Michael Gerber are in charge of the prosecution.