Opening arguments begin in cop accused in murder-for-hire

Sick of paying alimony and tired of fighting for custody of his children, New York City Police Officer Anthony Battisti wanted his ex-wife dead, a Nassau County prosecutor said Monday.

"Anthony Battisti was paying for a wife and a family that he no longer had, and that made him angry," prosecutor Melissa Lewis said in her opening argument at Battisti's trial on charges that he hired a hit man to kill his ex-wife, Patricia. "If his wife was dead, all his problems would disappear."

Battisti, 42, of Franklin Square, accused of promising to pay Timothy Gersbeck, 37, of Levittown, $5,000 to kill his ex-wife, is charged with first-degree attempted murder and second-degree conspiracy. If convicted, Battisti could face life in prison. He is free on $500,000 bail.

Gersbeck was caught only moments after he tried to stab Patricia Battisti with a sharpened screwdriver outside her Franklin Square home in January 2009, Lewis said. Patricia Battisti's boyfriend and 19-year-old son were inside the house at the time, and chased and caught him.

Gersbeck, who is expected to testify at the trial, pleaded guilty to his role in the crime and will be sentenced to at least 8 years in prison, Lewis said.

Battisti's lawyer, Stephen Scaring of Garden City, said Gersbeck, a mechanic who did odd jobs for Battisti fixing up broken down race cars, acted alone, then ratted out Battisti as a way to get a better deal for himself.

"Anthony Battisti is going to become the get-out-of-jail-free card for Gersbeck," Scaring said in his opening statement.

Gersbeck knew Anthony Battisti was set to go out of town on the night of the attack, was "desperate for money," and decided to try and get it from Battisti's ex. That's why he didn't kill her, but, according to Scaring, "hardly nicked her" with the screwdriver.

Lewis said there is evidence that Battisti gave Gersbeck a down payment before the crime, and was going to pay him the remainder afterward. Scaring said the only money that changed hands had to do with mechanical work Gersbeck was doing for Battisti.

He said a letter Gersbeck sent to his girlfriend while he was in prison will bear that out. In the letter, Gersbeck says he sold Battisti a race motor, and Battisti still owed him $5,200.

"But now that I'm working with the system, they said the money is money for hire," the letter said, according to Scaring.