Snapshot: Jerry Steuerman
Seymour
Tankleff's business partner in Strathmore Bagels. Owed Seymour half a
million dollars and was the last to leave a poker game at the Tankleff
residence in the early morning of the murders. One week after the
attacks, as Seymour lay in a coma, withdrew $15,000 from a joint bank
account he shared with Seymour, named his girlfriend the beneficiary of
his life insurance policy, faked his own death, shaved his beard,
changed his hair weave, assumed an alias and fled to California, where
he stayed for a time at the Big Sur resort. Alleged to have attempted
to hire Joseph Creedon to cut out Marty Tankleff's tongue. Weeks before
the murders, is alleged to have pulled Seymour Tankleff across a
counter and threatened to cut his throat. While he has always publicly
denied involvement in the Tankleff murders, is said to have recently
told people privately, "So what, I slit their throats, what are they
going to do, give me 50 years at my age?" The year following the
Tankleff murders, a cabinet maker overheard Steuerman threaten a man,
screaming that he'd already killed two people and it wouldn't matter if
he killed another. In early 80's, son Todd Steuerman pled guilty to
selling cocaine out of the bagel store, an operation in which,
according to a confidential defense witness, cops were paid off not to
interfere. Contradicting Detective James McCready's
testimony at Marty's original trial that he never knew Jerry Steuerman,
at court hearings in 2004 a baking supplies wholesaler testified he was
100% certain he repeatedly saw Detective McCready with Jerry in the bagel store in
the late 70's and early 80's, well before the Tankleff murders. In the
late 80's, Jerry Steuerman was represented by the current or former law partner of
current Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota. For selling
cocaine out of the bagel store, son Todd Steuerman was represented by
Spota's law firm. To this day, Suffolk County law enforcement has never
considered Jerry Steuerman a suspect in the Tankleff murders.
I LIVED IN P.J. VILLAGE AT THE TIME OF THE MURDERS. MARTY'S COVICTION WAS A CROCK THEN AND IT IS A CROCK NOW. HE NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN HELD, OR CONVICTED. THAT SKANK BUSINESS PARTNER IS AND ALWAYS WAS GUILTY. HE(STEUERMAN) WAS A DIRT BAG THEN AND PROBABLY STILL IS. DRUGS AND MONEY ARE WHAT KILLED MARTY'S PARENTS, NOT THEIR SON. I THINK WHAT STINKS NOW IS THAT THE PROSECUTERS CAN'T GET OFF THEIR STORY AND REALIZE THAT THEY MADE A MISTAKE. LET IT GO. IT IS BETTER TO ADMIT YOU BLEW IT THAN TO LET MARTY ROT IN JAIL. SUFFOLK COUNTY SHOULD BE ASHAMED AND WORSE YET THEY PROBABLY WANT TO KEEP HIM IN PRISON TO STOP HIM FROM SUING THEIR SORRY BUTTS FOR DESTROYING HIS LIFE. SORRY MARTY, THIS NEVER SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO YOU.
Posted by: JIM | June 15, 2005 at 05:46 PM
Marty was surrounded by complete incompetents...especially his horrible attorney Gottleib...how does that man sleep at night?
Add to this the extraordinary prejudice , cronism, of the Suffolk County Justice system....and poof...innocent people are always being convicted to convenient the police/da, etc.
Posted by: bruce sturwood | August 06, 2005 at 09:49 AM
Please explain why you call Gottlieb horrible and incompetent. Did you lead your comment with Gottlieb's competence because you believe the job he did was the primary reason Marty was convicted?
Posted by: Doctor News | August 06, 2005 at 06:05 PM