DA: Long Island Cardiologist Indicted for Hiring Hit Man to Kill Rival Doc

A doctor from Sands Point, who faces up to 25 years in prison for his alleged involvement in a murder-for-hire scheme in which he planned to kill a rival cardiologist earlier this year, was arraigned Monday in Nassau County Court.

Dr. Anthony Moschetto, 54, was first under investigation by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents for selling Oxycodone pills out of his office in Great Neck, but the investigation escalated into a case involving arson, the sale of drugs and assault weapons, a murder plot and a room filled with weapons that was hidden by a moving bookshelf inside the doctor’s million-dollar home, Nassau County District Attorney’s office said.

Moschetto, who was arrested April 14, pleaded not guilty to the following grand jury 77-count indictment charges:

• First degree criminal possession of a weapon
• Four counts of third degree criminal possession of a controlled substance
• Four counts of third degree criminal sale of a controlled substance
• Second degree conspiracy
• Third degree arson
• 39 counts of criminal sale of a prescription for a controlled substance
• Four counts of third degree criminal sale of a firearm
• Third degree burglary
• Second degree criminal mischief
• Two counts of second degree criminal solicitation
• Fourth degree conspiracy
• 14 counts of fourth degree criminal possession of a weapon
• Two counts of fourth degree criminal solicitation

Bail was continued at $2 million bond or $1.25 million cash.

“The defendant was a respected member of the community, caring for patients in Nassau County, but allegedly he had a sinister side and ordered the death of a rival cardiologist,” Acting Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said in a statement. “Working with our partners in the NCPD and DEA, we were able to break up this complex murder-for-hire plot before someone was killed.”

Undercover detectives bought drugs from Moschetto’s seller on six different occasions from Dec. 2014 to March of this year. The Oxycodone pill investigation led to the additional undercover purchases of heroin and two fully loaded assault weapons, police said. An undercover detective also learned about the seller’s pursuit of dynamite to blow up a property believed to be the office building of a rival doctor, police said.

At a press conference in April, Acting Nassau County Police Department Commissioner Thomas Krumpter called Moschetto a “hidden monster living in the North Shore area who has no respect for law and life.”

The dispute between Moschetto and his fellow doctor happened several months ago, police said. The two doctors worked in the same office building, located at 38 Northern Boulevard in Great Neck. After the dispute, Moschetto moved his offices to a different location in Great Neck.

Authorities did not name the fellow doctor, but last year the website of Heart Diagnostic Imaging listed Moschetto as the partner of Dr. Martin H. Handler. The cached version of the website says Moschetto joined Handler in the practice in 1994.

Authorities believe the business dispute is what caused Moschetto to hire two men, James Chmela, 44, of Selden, and Jack Kalamaras, 41, of Suffolk County, to commit arson to the competing cardiologist’s practice around Feb. 22. Moschetto first planned to purchase dynamite to blow up the doctor’s office, but he decided to have the office set on fire instead, police said.

Authorities were able to quickly extinguish the fire, which damaged the office but caused no injuries.

Moschetto then allegedly hired an individual, who was an undercover detective, to assault and murder the competing doctor. The detective was paid with blank prescriptions in addition to $5,000 cash to have the doctor beaten and put in the hospital and was then paid $20,000 in cash to have the doctor killed at a later date, police said. Moschetto also asked for the rival doctor’s wife to be beaten if she was present during the first assault, the DA said.

Authorities “stopped a potential murder plot dead in its track,” Singas said at a press conference in April.

Police believe the hit on the doctor was to be executed in May. Authorities have a video of Moschetto talking about the hire plot, which has not been released to the public.

During a search warrant on Moscehtto’s Sands Point home on April 15, authorities found a hidden room in his home that was accessed by a switch-activated, moving bookshelf. The basement room revealed hundreds of weapons, including hand grenades, knives and guns. The amount of weapons found were enough for a small army, Krumpter said.

Moschetto’s attorney Randy Zelin described his client as a well-respected cardiologist whose hobby is his job.

“What he was most concerned about today was his patients,” Zelin told Patch in April. “He was most concerned about their reaction, about them feeling comfortable about going to see him. Patients were calling the office all day asking about him. That speaks volume about his character and how he’s viewed in the community.”

Moschetto has been affiliated with St. Francis Hospital for over 20 years.

The doctor hopes to go back to work and care for his patients, Zelin said in April.

According to Zelin, Moschetto has no disciplinary history as a doctor. His client grew up in the community that he now lives and works in. “He is not going anywhere,” Zelin said.

Moschetto is the father of two children. He has a significant other who lives with him in his Sands Point home.

Moschetto is due back in court on Dec. 9.

Co-defendant Chmela’s case is in waive to grand jury status and no future court date is available. Chmela’s charges can be found here.

The arrest of Moschetto and his co-conspirators was through a joint investigation by the NCDA, the Nassau County Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Images via NCDA