Sands Point Doctor May Serve 5 Years for Murder-for-Hire Scheme: DA

A doctor from Sands Point could face up to five years in prison for charges related to a murder-for-hire scheme in which he planned to kill a rival cardiologist in 2015, Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said.

Dr. Anthony Moschetto, 56, pleaded guilty Tuesday to four of the 77-count indictment that was unsealed in November 2015. The four charges were:

• First-degree criminal possession of a weapon
• Criminal sale of a prescription for a controlled substance
• Third-degree arson
• Fourth-degree conspiracy

The NCDA is recommending that Moschetto serve 12 years in prison, but Supreme Court Justice Christopher committed to a sentence of five years in prison with five years of post-release supervision. In 2015, the DA said he could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top charges.

Moschetto’s medical license and his DEA-prescribing privileges were suspended as part of his plea deal.

Orders of protection were issued for two victims involved in the case and all illegal weapons in Moschetto’s possession will be destroyed. The legal weapons will be turned over to a federal firearms license holder, the DA said. A search warrant on Moscehtto’s Sands Point home in April 2015, recovered hundreds of weapons, including hand grenades, knives and guns inside a basement room hidden by a switch-activated, moving bookshelf, the DA said. The amount of weapons found were enough for a small army, Acting Nassau County Police Department Commissioner Thomas Krumpter said.

Bail was continued at $2 million bond or $1.25 million cash. Moschetto is due back for sentencing on Friday, Dec. 16.

“In public, Moschetto was a respected member of his community, but in private he collected dangerous assault weapons, illegally sold prescription drugs to fund his arsenal, and plotted to murder another cardiologist over a business disagreement,” Singas said in a press release.

Moschetto 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.

Undercover detectives bought drugs from Moschetto’s seller on six different occasions from Dec. 2014 to March 2015, the DA said. 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.

The dispute between Moschetto and his fellow doctor happened several months prior to his arrest, 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 said.

Authorities did not name the fellow doctor, but in 2014, 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, 2015. 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 2015.

Police believe the hit on the doctor was to be executed in May 2015. Authorities say they have a video of Moschetto talking about the hire plot, which has not been released to the public.

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 2105. “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.

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.

Mugshot via NCPD