Prosecutors to allege Thornton's roles at murder trial

Ronald C. Thornton played two roles in the months leading up to the shooting death of his friend and business partner, James DiMartino, Suffolk prosecutors will allege during Thornton's murder trial.

In one role, Thornton was DiMartino's link to a supposed mob-connected moneyman who wanted to invest millions in the pair's new money-lending business, prosecutors say. In another role, Thornton was an informant for the Suffolk County district attorney's office, claiming he could link DiMartino to a mob figure one official later called "a myth."

The two roles officials say Thornton played until the day 16 months ago when he allegedly had DiMartino killed will be the backdrop for Thornton's trial scheduled to begin in Riverhead Monday. It promises to include scams, hidden microphones, a stripper turned state's witness, a kidnapping plot, double-crosses and a fictional mobster named Castellano.

DiMartino's widow, Diane, has attended a series of pretrial hearings and appearances and called the tale "unreal."

"I'm hearing this story day after day and it's like I'm walking in a fog," said the mother of four last week. "It's like someone else's story and I'll just wake up and be like, 'Oh, this is my story.' "

Thornton, 39, a one-time mortgage broker from Nesconset, has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and first-degree murder.

"He's ready for this and ready to be vindicated," said his attorney, Glenn Obedin, who declined to address specifics of the allegations. "He took no part in the death of James DiMartino and he's been waiting a long time for the truth to come out."

Charged with grand larceny

In the spring of 2008, following a series of civil suits alleging real estate rip-offs, Thornton was facing a charge of grand larceny after a client claimed earlier Thornton stole $38,000 from him as part of a home refinancing deal.

With DiMartino, also of Nesconset, now representing Thornton on his criminal matter, the pair launched a business in June 2008 to make private, real-estate backed loans, Diane DiMartino said.

"My husband was really excited because the real estate market was collapsing and he was looking for new ways to make money," she said. Diane DiMartino said Thornton also claimed to have a mob-connected relative who was to invest "millions of dollars" in the business.

In March 2008, DA officials say Thornton had contacted them, saying that DiMartino had gotten a loan from one John Castellano - purportedly a relative of one-time Gambino family boss Paul Castellano. In a bid for leniency on the larceny charge, Thornton agreed to gather evidence on DiMartino.

After signing a letter of cooperation, Thornton began meeting regularly with DA investigators, according to courtroom testimony from a DA official. Thornton also wore a hidden wire and taped conversations with DiMartino.

When asked on the stand if Thornton provided useful information about DiMartino's alleged tie to the mob, Suffolk police Det. Blaise Cimilucca replied, "Not satisfactorily." Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Nancy Clifford said Castellano never existed.

Buyers want refunds

During the period of Thornton's cooperation, at least four people who had made down payments on real estate deals Thornton had brokered approached DiMartino for the return of their money.

At least two expected to receive a total of $172,000 on Oct. 20, 2008, the day DiMartino was killed. That morning, DiMartino told Diane he was going to meet Thornton, saying, "I'm finally going to meet John," an apparent reference to Castellano.

Just before his death, DiMartino told Diane he expected Thornton to transfer $16 million to an escrow account to settle Thornton's debts and fund the business, officials said. Four weeks after DiMartino was found shot in the head outside a restaurant in Commack, police arrested Thornton, along with Monique Randall, 30, her boyfriend, Donovan Raysor, 22, and Donnell Festus, 24, all of Queens.

Last February, Thornton was again indicted by the Suffolk DA, who charged him with conspiracy for allegedly trying to hire an undercover investigator posing as a prisoner to have Randall's daughter kidnapped to discourage her testimony.

The DA has not detailed a suspected motive for the killing. Diane DiMartino believes that Thornton may have thought if DiMartino was killed in a robbery, the office would still offer him leniency. She questioned the office's six-month cooperation with Thornton.

"This was my question for the DA, why did you believe this guy? They didn't really have an answer," she said.

With Carl MacGowan