Long Island Doctor Arraigned In Alleged Murder-For-Hire Plot
MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A Long Island cardiologist pleaded not guilty Monday to charges in connection with an alleged murder-for-hire plot.
Dr. Anthony Moschetto was arraigned on a 77-count indictment, which included charges of conspiracy, arson, criminal solicitation and criminal sale of a controlled substance.
Prosecutors said he tried to hire someone to kill a competing doctor because of a professional dispute.
"The defendant was a respected member of the community, caring for patients in Nassau County, but allegedly he had a sinister side and ordered the death of a rival cardiologist," Acting Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said.
Acting Nassau County police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter said the alleged plot involved drugs, guns and arson, WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs reported.
"Dr. Moschetto, by all accounts, was a one-man crime wave," he said.
Moschetto allegedly enlisted the help of 44-year-old James Chmela and 41-year-old James Kalamaras, who are also charged in the case, to help carry out the scheme, prosecutors said.
Moschetto hired the two men to set fire to the other cardiologist's office in Great Neck and paid for the crime by giving them illegal weapons and oxycodone pills, Singas said.
The fire was set in February. It was quickly extinguished, and no one was injured.
Moschetto then tried to hire a man, who turned out to be an undercover detective, to assault or kill the other cardiologist, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors would not detail the dispute that led to the murderous intent, but they revealed that the hit man Dr. Moschetto allegedly tried to hire for $20,000 during their year-long investigation was an undercover police officer who secretly recorded their meetings, CBS2's Jessica Schneider reported.
Singas said undercover officers working with the district attorney's office and drug enforcement agents were able to foil the alleged plot.
When investigators raided Moschetto's Sands Point home, they found approximately 100 weapons in a secret room in the basement hidden behind a moving bookshelf, prosecutors said.
"Luckily for his victim, Dr. Moschetto chose the wrong people to deal with," Singas said. "We stopped it dead in its tracks."
Dr. Moschetto still has his Great Neck practice and some of his patients remain loyal, even as authorities seek to strip him of his license.
"I see him as my personal doctor, and he's good," George Lutu said. "He's capable and I trust him."
The former medical partner whose offices were torched would not be comment.
Bail for Moschetto was continued at $2 million bond. He is due back in court in December.
Moschetto faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
