Tarantino trial witness describes murder

The confessed lookout in a murder allegedly orchestrated by Dix Hills gym owner Christian Tarantino gave a gripping account of the killing in a matter-of-fact voice Thursday in federal court.

He described how, while he watched, a triggerman walked up to the victim -- a friend who seemed pleased to see the man -- and calmly shot him in the face.

The lookout, Pedro Amador, said that a few days before the August 2003 murder in Manhattan, he had quickly agreed to be paid $3,500 by the man who he said pulled the trigger, his brother-in-law, Justin Bressman, to serve as a lookout while "he did a job . . . carried out the contract."

Amador, testifying in Central Islip for the prosecution in Tarantino's trial, said he did not know the victim. He said he was told only that the target was named "Vinnie," and Bressman was being paid $35,000 by his boss "Matty" for the killing, because of a business dispute.

"Vinnie" was Vincent Gargiulo, say prosecutors, who contend that his killing was, in fact, masterminded by Tarantino.

Tarantino's motive was to prevent Gargiulo from informing on Tarantino's criminal activity to the FBI, prosecutors say. Bressman was an employee at one of Tarantino's Manhattan gyms, and Gargiulo a sometime business partner, prosecutors say.

Tarantino is also charged in this trial with the murder of another associate, with whom he is accused of carrying out the killing of an armored car guard during a 1994 Muttontown robbery.

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Amador testified under questioning by federal prosecutor James Miskiewicz, who has worked for eight years on the case.

Amador said that he and Bressman waited for the victim at Gargiulo's construction worksite at Broadway and 30th Street in Manhattan the morning of Aug. 18, 2003. Bressman was armed with a .22-caliber pistol, with a silencer, concealed in a pillow case, Amandor said.

" 'That's him coming down the block,' " Bressman said, according to Amador, as "Vinnie" walked down Broadway, carrying a hard hat and a water cooler.

Gargiulo said to Bressman, " 'What are you doing here?' in a nice way . . . like he was [surprised] to be seeing a friend" in an unexpected place, Amador testified.

At that point, Amador said, Bressman put his left hand on Gargiulo's right shoulder, as Gargiulo stooped down to put his things on the ground.

"Before he could fully get up . . . [Bressman] shot him in the face," Amador said, adding that Bressman "had blood on his hand," apparently from the impact of the bullet.

The two quickly left. Police and FBI agents have searched unsuccessfully for Bressman since the killing.

One of Tarantino's defense attorneys, Michael Rosen, tried to chip away at Amador's credibility by pointing out inconsistencies in his testimony and stressing Amandor had agreed to cooperate and implicate Tarantino in the Gargiulo murder to avoid a potential death penalty.