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Opening statements in Commack murder-for-hire trial

Ronald Thornton hired a quot;death squadquot; to kill

Photo credit: Suffolk County Police Department | Ronald Thornton hired a "death squad" to kill James DiMartino on Oct. 20, 2008, outside a restaurant on Jericho Turnpike in Commack, prosecutors said.

Ronald Thornton first enticed James DiMartino into fraudulent real estate schemes, then had the Nesconset attorney killed when Thornton's "house of cards" was about to crumble, a Suffolk prosecutor told jurors Monday.

The slaying took place on Oct. 20, 2008, in the parking lot of a Commack restaurant where DiMartino, 44, expected Thornton to hand over a $16-million cash infusion for the mortgage...

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