Mechanic: Cop gave suggestions in my attempt to kill his ex-wife

The mechanic who said he was hired by a New York City police officer to kill the man's ex-wife testified Thursday that the officer suggested he use a shotgun or a screwdriver to get the "job" done.

"He gave me options," Timothy Gersbeck, 39, testified at officer Anthony Battisti's attempted murder trial in Mineola.

Gersbeck, 39, who pleaded guilty for his role and is cooperating with Nassau prosecutors, told jurors he opted to use the sharpened screwdriver he said Battisti gave him to stab Patricia Battisti, 46, and nixed the idea of using the sawed-off shotgun.

"It's too loud. People would hear it. It would be out in the open," reasoned Gersbeck of Levittown.

Gersbeck testified that Anthony Battisti paid him $2,800 and promised to pay him an additional $2,200 after he killed Patricia Battisti.

Anthony Battisti, 43, of Franklin Square is charged with first-degree attempted murder and second-degree conspiracy. If convicted, he could face life in prison. He is suspended from his job and is free on $500,000 bail.

The motive, according to Assistant District Attorney Carolyn Kelly at last week's trial opening: Anthony Battisti was tired of paying alimony and tired of fighting for custody of his children.

During opening arguments, Battisti's lawyer, Stephen Scaring of Garden City, said Gersbeck, who did odd jobs for Battisti fixing up broken-down racing cars, acted alone, then implicated Battisti to get a better deal for himself.

Under questioning by Scaring, Gersbeck acknowledged what he told jurors Thursday differed from what he told prosecutors on Jan. 24, 2009, the day after he was arrested.

Gersbeck insisted he was telling the truth Thursday when he testified he stabbed Patricia Battisti in the back of the neck as she was entering her Franklin Square home and that he meant to kill her.

On the witness stand, Gersbeck said he lied when he earlier told prosecutors that he didn't take the sharpened screwdriver out of his pants pockets and that he intended to scare Patricia Battisti, not kill her. He lied, he said, because he was nervous and confused.

Under further cross-examination, Gersbeck said during the months between the time he was arrested and the time he agreed to testify for the prosecution, negotiations were under way to cut him a deal.

"They wanted Anthony. Isn't it true?" Scaring asked Gersbeck.

"Yes," Gersbeck replied.

"All you had to do was give them Anthony Battisti, yes?" Scaring pressed on.

"Yes," Gersbeck said.

Gersbeck pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder on Aug. 14 and will serve at least eight years in prison. He was initially charged with first-degree attempted murder and had faced life in prison.

The trial resumes Friday.