Scarsdale High School Graduate Found Guilty of Murder, Kidnapping

Former Scarsdale resident Andrew Zayac was found guilty of murder last Friday after a federal jury in Danbury, Conn. agreed with the prosecution's argument that Zayac, 31, was involved in the 2009 kidnapping and killing of Bronx resident Edward Rivera.  

According to the prosecution, Zayac, along with Heriberto Gonzalez, 31, of the Bronx, kidnapped and robbed Rivera on February 8, 2009 after negotiating to purchase 68 pounds of marijuana valued at $150,000. Gonzalez was shot twice and Zayac, along with Gonzalez, dumped Rivera’s body in Danbury, Conn., before driving back to the Bronx to burn Zayac’s car.

Zayac was convicted on Friday of of one count of kidnapping resulting in death, one count of murder during the commission of a robbery, one count of interference with commerce through the use of violence, one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, one count of conspiracy to use or possess a firearm in furtherance of crimes of violence and a narcotics trafficking offense, three counts of destruction/concealment of evidence and one count of conspiracy to destroy/conceal evidence, according to prosecutors.

In a separate trial, Gonzalez was also found guilty of one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, three counts of destruction/concealment of evidence and one count of conspiracy to destroy/conceal evidence. 

Zayac is slated to be sentenced on October 7, 2011, for a mandatory life sentence.

Zayac is a 1998 graduate of Scarsdale High School, where he starred on the school's soccer team. He was arrested along with two others by Westchester County Police in 2000 for allegedly possessing over 1,000 Ecstasy pills. Zayac has been detained in federal custody since February 28, 2009, on related narcotics trafficking charges.