Former Briarcliff Cop Accused Of Murders To Face Death Penalty

BRIARCLIFF MANOR, NY — A former Briarcliff Manor cop who is accused of killing four men in Orange County will face the death penalty. Federal prosecutors said they will pursue capital punishment for Nicholas Tartaglione, who was arrested in December 2016.

Tartaglione was accused of killing Martin Luna, Urbano Santiago, Miguel Luna and Hector Gutierrez who were last seen April 11, 2016, in a Chester, Orange County, bar, the Journal News said.

Tartaglione's attorney Bruce Barket called the decision despicable, among other things.

The 2016 indictment said that Tartaglione and others conspired to sell cocaine, and in April 2016, participated in killing the four men, some of whom were in the wrong place at the wrong time, authorities said.

He was charged with four counts of murder in furtherance of a narcotics conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine.

The murder counts carry a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison or the death penalty.

Tartaglione's time as a Briarcliff Manor cop was full of controversy. A confrontation with village gadfly Clay Tiffany at Scarborough Park reverberated for years of lawsuits. He also fought with the village police department over a case which he had manipulated to get a friend of a friend off a DWI charge. He was a plaintiff or a defendant in four suits with the village.

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