| Originator Murdered by Collectors
Robert Calabrese became a bookie, then was shot by customers December 15, 2004 By PATRICK CROWLEY |
| When New York mortgage originator Robert Calabrese lost his job in the fall, he turned to a new business venture that cost him his life.Calabrese, 24 and out of work, became a bookie taking illegal bets on sporting events. Two men, including one who owed him nearly $20,000, have been arrested for murdering Calabrese after luring him with a promise of paying up.
In a twisted bit of irony, Nassau County police said the two men charged with second degree murder in Calabrese’s death — Mark Orlando, 34, and Herve Jeannot, 23 — worked at a collection agency in Farmingdale, N.Y., where they were apprehended by police. Calabrese, who local newspapers identified as a former high school wrestling star on Long Island, was the son of a retired police officer. His body was discovered Dec. 3 lying face down in the street. Several bullets had been pumped into his head. His Infiniti, still idling when police arrived, was just steps from the body. Police now say that Orlando, who owed Calabrese $18,000, set up the young bookie by luring him to a meeting. Orlando had arranged for Jeannot to accompany with him and act as the shooter. Police suspect that Orlando promised to pay Jeannot for pulling the trigger. “The men are charged with luring Robert Calabrese to the place of (the shooting), a backstreet,” police said in a written statement. “There, under the pretense of paying a gambling debt, the men, acting in consort, shot the victim multiple times in the head. Calabrese died at the scene and was found a short time later by a passing motorist.” Police did not say where Calabrese worked in the mortgage business. “It was a vicious murder,” Nassau County Police Detective Lt. Dennis Farrell reportedly told The New York Daily News. “We’re still looking into what compensation Jeannot may have expected for his role in the murder.” |
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Patrick Crowley is a political reporter and columnist and former business writer for The Cincinnati Enquirer. Email Patrick at: pcrowley@enquirer.com |
