Jeffrey Epstein’s cellmate sentenced for gruesome quadruple murder after bodies were dumped in shallow grave
The man Tartaglione tortured was Martin Luna, who he believed had stolen $250,000 from him that was meant to buy cocaine, prosecutors said. The other three victims were friends or family who happened to be out at a club with Luna when Tartaglione and two associates kidnapped them in 2016
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A retired police officer convicted of murdering four people, including a man he tortured and strangled over stolen drug money, was sentenced Monday to four consecutive life terms in prison.
Nicholas Tartaglione, 56, who had been an officer in the Hudson River Valley village of Briarcliff Manor, was convicted last year. His case drew attention both because of the brutality of the crime and because Tartaglione was briefly a cellmate of Jeffery Epstein, the politically connected playboy who killed himself while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
The man Tartaglione tortured was Martin Luna, who he believed had stolen $250,000 from him that was meant to buy cocaine, prosecutors said. The other three victims were friends or family who happened to be out at a club with Luna when Tartaglione and two associates kidnapped them in 2016.
Prosecutors said Urbano Santiago, Miguel Luna, and Hector Gutierrez were forced to watch as Tartaglione strangled Martin Luna with a zip tie. Then, they were executed by gunfire. Investigators found the bodies of the four men buried together on Tartaglione’s property in Otisville, New York.
Tartaglione worked for various suburban police departments before retiring on disability from the Briarcliff Manor force in 2008, including the departments in Yonkers, Pawling and Mount Vernon. Tartaglione has maintained his innocence, arguing at trial that he simply ran an animal rescue farm and wasn't motivated by money, according to The Journal News.
One of his alleged accomplices in the murders shot himself in his car in 2017 as FBI agents prepared to arrest him. Another man, Joseph Biggs, was sentenced to 16 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to killing one of the victims. Biggs described the killings as a witness at Tartaglione's trial.
Tartaglione was not Epstein's cellmate at the time of his death, but his lawyer claimed he was a “critical witness” in the ensuing suicide investigation. He had shared a cell with Epstein weeks earlier in 2019, when the wealthy financier was discovered with bruises on his neck and then placed on suicide watch.