Life X 4 For Former Cop In Orange County Quadruple Murder Case

NEW YORK — Nicholas Tartaglione, a former cop convicted for his leadership role in the torture and murder of four men, was sentenced Monday to four consecutive life sentences, Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced.

At the sentencing, federal Judge Kenneth Karas described Tartaglione as a “monster” who has shown no remorse for his conduct, prosecutors said.

Tartaglione, who worked in Westchester and Dutchess counties before becoming a drug dealer and murderer in Orange County, killed or oversaw the killing of Martin Luna, Urbano Santiago, Miguel Luna, and Hector Gutierrez on April 11, 2016.

His helpers were bodybuilder and school security guard Joseph Biggs of Nanuet and former Haverstraw police officer and strongman competitor Gerard Benderoth. Benderoth shot and killed himself after being stopped by FBI agents in Thiells in 2017, The Journal News reported. Biggs, who pleaded guilty for his involvement, testified against his former associate. Biggs was sentenced in April to 16 years and eight months in federal prison, TJN reported.

"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," Williams said. "He tried to cover up his crimes by burying all four victims in a shallow grave on his property. 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."

According to the allegations contained in the indictment, the evidence offered at trial, statements made in open court, and matters included in public filings:

Luna was 41; Santiago was Martin’s nephew by marriage and was 35. Miguel Luna was Martin’s nephew and was 25, while Gutierrez, 43, was a close family friend of all three.

Prosecutors said Tartaglione, who believed Martin had stolen roughly $250,000 meant for the purchase of cocaine in an ongoing drug trafficking scheme, tortured Martin by restraining him and beating him for over an hour. When Martin did not provide the location of the missing money, Tartaglione strangled him to death with a zip-tie. The other three were taken to Tartaglione's farm in Otisville and were killed — each with a single gunshot to the back of the head, execution style — because they witnessed Martin’s murder. All four victims were buried there in a shallow grave. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force located the grave in December 2016.

The 56-year-old was found guilty in April 2023 of 11 counts of murder, four counts of kidnapping resulting in death, one count of kidnapping conspiracy, and one count of narcotics conspiracy.

Tartaglione's time as a prisoner awaiting trial had been full of controversy. At one point he was millionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's cellmate, and there were rumors he had roughed Epstein up, but he was investigated and cleared over Epstein's alleged suicide in his cell.

Tartaglione complained for years about conditions in jail, including filth and bad treatment, and asked several times to be moved, prompting Judge Karas to demand the Metropolitan Correctional Center fix the problems. SEE: Ex-Briarcliff Cop Says Jail Conditions Worse Since Epstein Died

Tartaglione's time on the Briarcliff Manor force was full of controversy as well. He was hired by the wealthy Westchester community after stints at Mount Vernon, Yonkers, and Pawling. A confrontation with a village gadfly at a park on the Hudson River reverberated for years of lawsuits. He also fought with the 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. Briarcliff fired Tartaglione over one accusation of misconduct, but Tartaglione sued, won his job back, then retired in 2008 on a disability pension.

Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI, the New York State Police, and the Village of Chester Police Department. Williams also thanked the City of Middletown Police Department and the Houston, Texas Police Department for their assistance in the case.