Former Hudson Valley Cop Brutally Murdered Four Men

Horrifying details were revealed in court before a former Hudson Valley police officer was found guilty of a brutal quadruple murder.

On Thursday, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams released a statement announcing Nicholas Tartaglione had been guilty of four murders by a Westchester federal jury. Tartaglione, a former police officer who worked on the force in Pawling, Mount Vernon, Yonkers and Briarcliff Manor, was on trial for the brutal death of Martin Luna, his two nephews and a family friend.

Bodies of the four men were discovered in December of 2016 on a plot of land in Otisville owned by Tartaglione. The four men were last seen at the Chester Diner almost exactly seven years ago.

Authorities describe Tartaglione as a "former police officer-turned drug dealer" who was capable of unthinkable horrors. Williams says the convicted murderer suspected that Martin Luna had stolen money from him, so he lured the man to a meeting where he planned to kill him. Luna, who was unaware he was about to be murdered, brought his two nephews and a family friend to the meeting. According to Williams, what happened next was "pure terror."

Tartaglione reportedly tortured Martin Luna and then forced one of his nephews to watch as the man was strangled to death with a zip tie. After the first murder, Tartaglione enlisted the help of two other people to bring Luna's three family members and friends to a remote wooded area where they were forced to kneel on the ground before they were each shot in the back of the head. The four men were then buried in a mass grave.

Williams says the guilty verdict sends an important message.

Tartaglione’s heinous acts represent a broader betrayal, as he was a former police officer who once swore to protect the very community he devastated. Today, a jury has found Tartaglione guilty of these heinous acts, sending a message that no one is above the law.

Tartaglione now faces life in prison.