Former jailmate of Jeffrey Epstein, who previously worked as a cop, receives a life sentence for the murder of four individuals.
Nicholas Tartaglione received a prison sentence of four consecutive life terms on Monday for his involvement in the 2016 abductions and killings of Martin Luna, Miguel Luna, Urbano Santiago, and Hector Gutierrez, according to a statement by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams.
Tartaglione, who was labelled a "former police officer-turned drug dealer" by Williams, was found guilty in April 2023 of 11 counts related to murder, four counts involving kidnappings that led to deaths, one count of conspiracy to kidnap, and one count regarding drug offences.
"The life sentences were obligatory due to the convictions at trial," said Inga Parsons, who represented Tartaglione. Parsons added in a statement to CNN, "We are appealing and will persist in our efforts to demonstrate Nick's innocence."
Reportedly, Tartaglione shared a cell with Epstein at the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City and had been relocated before Epstein's suicide in August 2019.
The former officer was among the first people the FBI agents tried to question after they discovered Epstein dead in the secure housing unit of the facility.
As per the prosecutors, Tartaglione accused Martin Luna of stealing money from him and intended to confront him during a face-to-face encounter. Martin Luna, for his part, brought along his nephews, Miguel Luna and Santiago, and his family friend Gutierrez.
The encounter, which turned out to be a "deadly trap," saw Tartaglione torturing Martin Luna and then forcing one of his nephews to watch as he killed him with a zip-tie, according to a statement by Williams following the conviction trial.
Tartaglione and two of his accomplices then compelled Miguel Luna, Santiago, and Gutierrez to kneel and shot each of them from behind before burying their bodies in a mass grave, the statement further clarified.
"Nicholas Tartaglione mercilessly murdered Martin Luna over money and then callously executed Urbano Santiago, Miguel Luna, and Hector Gutierrez merely because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time," Williams said in a press release after the sentencing.
CNN's Emma Tucker and Sabrina Souza participated in this report.
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Tartaglione, a former officer, once shared a cell with US citizen Jeffrey Epstein in a federal prison. Following his conviction, Tartaglione expressed his intention to appeal and continue proving his innocence to the US legal system.
