Fourth person convicted in murder-for-hire
The last of four people charged in connection with the murder-for-hire two years ago of Nesconset attorney James DiMartino was convicted Tuesday of first-degree murder and second-degree conspiracy.
Donovan Raysor, 23, of St. Albans, Queens, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.
Raysor's conviction was bittersweet for James DiMartino's family, who said DiMartino had been proud of his annual Christmas lights display. "This is the worst Christmas," said his widow, Diane, after the verdict. "It reminds us that he's really gone."
Diane DiMartino and her husband's father, Joseph DiMartino, attended nearly every day of testimony through three trials since January. A fourth suspect had pleaded guilty in connection with the murder.
"He got what he deserved," Joseph DiMartino said of Raysor. "Now my son can rest in peace."
Suffolk prosecutors said Raysor and two other people, including his then-girlfriend, Monique Randall, accepted $10,000 from DiMartino's business partner to kill DiMartino, 44, in a Commack parking lot on Oct. 20, 2008.
Randall, 31, also of St. Albans, testified that Raysor met with DiMartino's business partner, Ronald Thornton, at a Queens diner and agreed to find someone to shoot DiMartino.
Raysor was in a nearby hotel room when DiMartino was shot by the gunman, Darnell Festus, 25, of Queens, Randall testified.
Thornton, 39, of Nesconset, and Festus are serving life sentences at upstate prisons for their roles in DiMartino's death. Each was convicted at separate trials of first-degree murder.
Randall pleaded guilty one month after DiMartino's death to second-degree murder for her role in the plot. She is awaiting sentencing.
Randall also testified as a prosecution witness at the trials of Thornton and Festus. She is expected to receive a lighter sentence of 15 years to life.
Prosecutors said DiMartino's death was linked to suspected mortgage fraud committed by Thornton.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
