WHITE PLAINS – Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, issued a statement regarding Monday’s sentencing of “cop-turned-drug dealing murderer”, Nicholas Tartaglione, explaining why the former Briarcliff and Pawling cop tortured and killed one man then executed three others in 2016.
Tartaglione, 56, is a resident of Otisville and was found guilty of 11 counts of murder, four counts of kidnapping resulting in death, one count of kidnapping conspiracy, and one count of narcotics conspiracy.
On Monday, the murderer learned that he was going to serve four consecutive life sentences for his leadership role in the 2016 deaths of Martin Luna, Urbano Santiago, Miguel Luna, and Hector Gutierrez. Tartaglione orchestrated the kidnapping and murders of all four victims on April 11, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said “Nicholas Tartaglione brutally and senselessly murdered Martin Luna over money, and then ruthlessly executed Urbano Santiago, Miguel Luna, and Hector Gutierrez simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. He tried to cover up his crimes by burying all four victims in a shallow grave on his property.” Explaining the work involved, Williams added “Thanks to the tireless efforts of countless law enforcement officers at the federal, state, and local level, and the relentless pursuit of justice by the career prosecutors in my office, Tartaglione has now been held accountable for his reprehensible crimes. Today’s sentence of four consecutive life terms justly reflects the pain and suffering each victim underwent at Tartaglione’s hands. I hope that this outcome brings some measure of closure to the victims’ families and to their community.”
The allegations in the indictment of Tartaglione, listed below, were proven in court, resulting in life sentences.
On April 11, 2016, Tartaglione orchestrated the kidnapping and murders of Martin Luna, Urbano Santiago, Miguel Luna, and Hector Gutierrez. Martin Luna was 41 years old when he died. Santiago was Martin Luna’s nephew by marriage and was 35 years old when he died. Miguel Luna was Martin Luna’s nephew and was 25 years old when he died. Hector Gutierrez was a close family friend of all three and was 43 years old when he died.
Martin Luna was killed because Tartaglione believed Martin Luna had stolen approximately $250,000 meant for the purchase of cocaine. The former cop tortured Martin Luna by restraining him and beating him for over an hour, but when Martin Luna did not provide the location of the missing money, Tartaglione strangled him to death with a zip-tie. Urbano Santiago, Miguel Luna, and Hector Gutierrez were all executed with a single gunshot to the back of their heads, execution style — because they witnessed the murder of Martin Luna. Tartaglione buried all four victims in a mass grave on his remote property in Otisville. The four victims remained in the ground until the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (“FBI”) Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force located the grave in December 2016.
At sentencing, US District Court Judge Kenneth Karas described Tartaglione as a “monster” who has shown no remorse for his conduct.
