By: Karenlyn Barone
Last month, the only woman arrested for the crime, Marina Musso, 22, entered a guilty plea to charges of robbery. The district attorney's office explained at the time that the murder charge against Musso was dropped in exchange for her testimony, and it is on the heels of that deal that two of the defendants have entered their guilty pleas. The last two suspects are awaiting trial. According to police, all five have connections to the Latin Kings gang.
Janny Paez, 21, of Freeport pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Monday for the killing of Anthony Battaglia, announced Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon.
"On September 19, 2003, Paez, along with three co-defendants, was involved in the attempted robbery of Anthony Battaglia," Dillon said. "The attempted robbery led to a violent physical altercation, which resulted in the brutal murder of Battaglia, just steps from his Lynbrook home. Battaglia was on his way home from the Lynbrook train station when he was beaten, stabbed and shot by Paez and three of his co-defendants."
Paez entered his guilty plea before Nassau County Court Judge Jerald Carter, as did Fernando Moronta, 21, of Freeport, on Feb. 8, to charges of first-degree robbery and first-degree attempted robbery, according to Dillon. Paez is expected to be sentenced on April 5.
Musso pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery and first-degree attempted robbery on Jan. 21, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 22. According to Dillon, Musso allegedly drove the getaway car.
The two other suspects, Omar Delarosa and Nelson Zuniga, are being held at the Nassau County Correctional Facility in East Meadow. According to Dillon's office, their pre-trial hearings are expected to start next week. Assistant District Attorney Michael Walsh will be prosecuting the case.
Battaglia's widow, Caryn, who has been in attendance for all matters involving the defendants, was present in court during Paez's plea.
Comments about this story? KBarone@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 202.
