NY - Ted Ammon, 52, murdered in his East Hampton home, 20 Oct 2001

[lisafremont]

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/l...,0,2697503.story?coll=ny-topstories-headlines

VICTIM'S LAST MEAL DETAILED AT PELOSI TRIAL

By Samuel Bruchey
Staff Writer

November 22, 2004, 3:18 PM EST

After weeks of testimony from more than 20 witnesses, Daniel Pelosi's fate may hinge on the contents of the stomach of the man he is accused of murdering.

Suffolk Deputy Medical Examiner James Wilson told a jury in Riverhead this morning that he examined Theodore Ammon's stomach during an autopsy and found particles of tuna, wild rice and asparagus -- the remains of what the millionaire financier had eaten on October 20, 2001 -- his last meal. There were also traces of alcohol, from the three glasses of wine Ammon drank with dinner.

Based on those findings, Wilson said Ammon's death most likely came between 4 and 12 hours after he finished his final meal....

 

[lisafremont]

http://www.newsday.com/mynews/ny-lipelo234052437nov23,0,3332925.story

ESTIMATING WHEN HE DIED

Death after dinner
Witness says Theodore Ammon's autopsy shows he was killed 4 to 10 hours after eating, a window of time when Pelosi was in the area

BY ROBIN TOPPING
STAFF WRITER

November 23, 2004

In the end, it could be Theodore Ammon himself who determines whether Daniel Pelosi is guilty of his murder.

Deputy Suffolk Medical Examiner James Wilson testified yesterday that Ammon died 4 to 10 hours after his last meal at the Farmhouse Restaurant in East Hampton between 9 and 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 20, 2001.

That would have given Pelosi plenty of time to drive to Ammon's East Hampton mansion from Manhattan and bludgeon him to death, according to Assistant District Attorney Janet Albertson....

 

[lisafremont]

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/34882.htm

GUARDS' RUSE VS. PELOSI

by Kieran Crowley

Murder suspect Danny Pelosi was hoodwinked in the clink.
After authorities got wind that Pelosi allegedly tried to hire a fellow inmate to rough up witnesses, a correction officer pulled off a ruse to make the suspect believe his plot went off without a hitch, a source told The Post.

"They set it up so that one of the officers, talking to another correction officer within earshot of Danny, said, 'Did you hear [that a witness had been assaulted]?' ...

 

[lisafremont]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime_file/story/255476p-218764c.html

Ammon's last meal may skewer Pelosi

A coroner testified yesterday that Wall Street financier Ted Ammon was killed four to ten hours after he ate his last meal, an account that backs prosecutors' timeline of the crime.
Deputy Suffolk County Medical Examiner James Wilson said Ammon was bludgeoned to death between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Oct. 21, 2001, in his East Hampton mansion. Prosecutors say accused killer Danny Pelosi was in Center Moriches by about 1:30 a.m., and had time to kill Ammon....

 

[lisafremont]

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/l...,0,2763040.story?coll=ny-topstories-headlines

Expert asserts stun gun's use in Pelosi case
Prosecution witness contends that the device was used on Ammon the night he was killed

BY ROBIN TOPPING
STAFF WRITER

November 24, 2004

Marks found on the back and neck of Theodore Ammon probably came from a stun gun, a prosecution witness testified yesterday in the Daniel Pelosi murder trial.

"It's quite possible and consistent with the use of a taser," said Dr. Robert Stratbucker, the medical director of Taser, an Arizona-based company that makes stun guns. Later, under strenuous cross-examination by defense attorney Gerald Shargel, Stratbucker went further, declaring, "There is nothing in the world that could have created this but a taser."

Assistant District Attorney Janet Albertson said outside of court that the use of the gun on Ammon provides an "evidentiary link" to Pelosi because of testimony that he bought at least one of the devices before the murder. Pelosi turned over a stun gun to Suffolk police before his indictment on charges of murdering Ammon in October 2001. Police tested the gun but found no link to the crime....

 

[lisafremont]

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/20818.htm

STUNNING TESTIMONY AGAINST PELOSI

by Kieran Crowley

A prosecution expert testified at Danny Pelosi's murder trial that a series of small red dots on millionaire Ted Ammon's back were the result of high-voltage shocks from a stun gun.

Dr. Robert Stratbucker, a researcher from Omaha, Neb., said that the two electrodes of stun guns, or Taser guns, leave red dots, "such as a bee sting or a hive," on the skin that fade away in hours or days — unless the victim dies.

In that case, the marks are preserved and are visible after death, he said....

 

[lisafremont]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime_file/story/255745p-218991c.html

Pelosi figures he'll be home for Christmas



BY ROBERT GEARTY and BILL HUTCHINSON
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

A cocky Danny Pelosi appears so confident he'll beat his murder rap that he's making plans for a Yuletide free of prison bars.
"I'll be home by Christmas," the Long Island electrician was overhead boasting in court yesterday.

The holiday prediction came as prosecutors were expected to rest their case today after presenting weeks of circumstantial evidence that Pelosi killed Wall Street mogul Ted Ammon.

A medical expert testified yesterday that Ammon fought for his life as his killer tortured him with a stun gun....

 

[lisafremont]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/24/nyregion/24pelosi.html?oref=login&pagewanted=all

Stun Gun Used on Ammon, Expert Says
By PETER C. BELLER

RIVERHEAD, N.Y., Nov. 23 - Whoever killed R. Theodore Ammon, the Wall Street financier, shocked him repeatedly with a stun gun, leaving marks all over his body, including a large welt on his neck where the skin was burned away, an expert witness testified Tuesday at the trial of Daniel Pelosi, the man accused of killing Mr. Ammon.

That mark, as well as red dots and streaks on the victim's back, were made by a Taser gun before he was killed, said Dr. Robert Stratbucker, the medical director for Taser International, which manufactures the weapon.

Mr. Ammon, 52, was found beaten to death in the master bedroom of his East Hampton house in October 2001. Mr. Pelosi, accused of murdering Mr. Ammon to get at his $80 million fortune, owned several stun guns, witnesses have testified. The stun gun in question and the murder weapon have never been found, but Mr. Pelosi voluntarily turned one stun gun over to investigators, the lead prosecutor, Janet Albertson, said Tuesday outside the courtroom....

 

[lisafremont]

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/l...,0,2828577.story?coll=ny-topstories-headlines

Prosecution rests in Pelosi case




BY ROBIN TOPPING
STAFF WRITER

November 24, 2004, 9:33 PM EST

Theodore Ammon was repeatedly zapped with a stun gun and the killer may have held him from behind in a choke hold while applying the gun directly to his neck, a Colorado coroner suggested in testimony Wednesday.

That testimony from Michael J. Dobersen, the medical examiner for Arapahoe County, provides foundation for the prosecution's theory that Daniel Pelosi used a stun gun before killing Ammon in October 2001 in the master bedroom of the millionaire's East Hampton home.

Dobersen said the stun gun's use and the choke hold scenario was supported by a line of small red marks on Ammon's left lower back, a larger Y-shaped wound on the right side of Ammon's neck and severe fractures to Ammon's larynx....

 

[lisafremont]

http://www.nydailynews.com/11-25-2004/news/crime_file/story/256231p-219406c.html

PELOSI SPEWS TO NEWS

BY ROBERT GEARTY and BILL HUTCHINSON
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS


Jennifer Zolnowski leaves L.I. courthouse after prosecution rested its case yesterday against her fiancé, Danny Pelosi.

When the prosecution rested its case yesterday, Long Island murder suspect Danny Pelosi scoffed at the evidence - then picked up the phone to vent.
From the Suffolk County jail, Pelosi called Daily News photographer John Roca, an acquaintance, then started griping.

"I am wondering why I am eating tuna fish in this jail instead of eating turkey with my family?" said Pelosi, accused of beating Wall St. mogul Ted Ammon to death. He married the murdered millionaire's widow.

Pelosi, 41, vowed to beat the second-degree murder rap, and predicted he will be acquitted within a month....

 

[lisafremont]

"They have no DNA, no prints, no witnesses at all..."

Danny Pelosi is predicting he will be home by Christmas.

 

[lisafremont]

http://www.newsday.com/mynews/ny-lipelo254054699nov25,0,2935124.story

Stun gun debate
A medical examiner for the prosecution says Theodore Ammon was tasered and possibly locked in a choke hold before being murdered




BY ROBIN TOPPING
STAFF WRITER

November 25, 2004

Theodore Ammon was repeatedly zapped with a stun gun, and the killer may have held him from behind in a choke hold while applying the gun directly to his neck, a Colorado coroner suggested in testimony yesterday.

That testimony from Michael J. Dobersen, the medical examiner for Arapahoe County, provides foundation for the prosecution's theory that Daniel Pelosi used a stun gun before killing Ammon in October 2001 in the master bedroom of the millionaire's East Hampton home.

Dobersen said the stun gun's use and the choke hold scenario were supported by a line of small red marks on Ammon's left lower back, a larger Y-shaped wound on the right side of Ammon's neck and severe fractures to his larynx....

 

[lisafremont]

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-banker-slain,0,7169226.story

Suspect in Banker Death Predicts Acquittal

By FRANK ELTMAN
Associated Press Writer

November 27, 2004, 3:05 PM EST

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. -- Now that prosecutors have rested their largely circumstantial case against him, the electrician charged with beating his girlfriend's millionaire husband to death is predicting he will be found innocent.

"I'll be home soon," Daniel Pelosi said after the prosecution rested Wednesday. "If that's their case, now you know why they couldn't arrest me" until more than two years after the killing.

Pelosi, who has a 20-year record of drunken driving and other offenses, has steadfastly proclaimed his innocence. The defense hopes to convince jurors that Daniel Pelosi couldn't have committed the crime.

"He was never in East Hampton, and at the time Ted Ammon died his whereabouts are accounted for," attorney Gerald Shargel said.

Prosecutors called 40 witnesses over six weeks for their case against Pelosi, who has been held without bail since March on second-degree murder charges in the October 2001 slaying of Theodore Ammon. ...

 

[lisafremont]

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--bankerslain1127nov27,0,5781178.story

Pelosi's attorney says prosecutors have the wrong man




By FRANK ELTMAN
Associated Press Writer

November 27, 2004, 8:59 AM EST

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. -- Now that prosecutors have rested their case against a suspect charged with fatally bludgeoning his girlfriend's millionaire husband, a defense team will try to convince jurors that authorities have the wrong man.

"He was never in East Hampton, and at the time Ted Ammon died his whereabouts are accounted for," attorney Gerald Shargel said of his client, Long Island electrician Daniel Pelosi.

Prosecutors called 40 witnesses during a six-week case against Pelosi, who has been held without bail since March on second-degree murder charges in the October 2001 slaying of Theodore Ammon.

The predominantly circumstantial case included three people who claimed Pelosi confessed to them that he killed Ammon while the millionaire slept. The victim was struck more than 30 times in the head with a blunt object and had numerous broken ribs and injuries throughout his body. ...

 

[lisafremont]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime_file/story/257622p-220644c.html


PELOSI DEFENSE OPENING WITH TOP DOC AS KEY

BY ROBERT GEARTY and BILL HUTCHINSON
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Long Island murder suspect Danny Pelosi will put his fate in the hands of a renowned forensic pathologist as he tries to prove he didn't kill Wall Street mogul Ted Ammon.
When Pelosi's attorney starts presenting the defense's case today, Dr. Werner Spitz will take on a starring role as he sets out to debunk the prosecution's theory of when the millionaire was killed....

 

[lisafremont]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/01/nyregion/01pelosi.html?oref=login

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Prosecution Rests, Stronger Than Expected, in Long Island Murder Trial
By PATRICK HEALY

If Daniel Pelosi, the Long Island electrician accused of killing a Manhattan financier, ever wonders where his friends have gone, he need look no further than the Suffolk County prosecutor's witness list.

A woman who once loved Mr. Pelosi, 41, testified that he had admitted to the 2001 murder of the financier, R. Theodore Ammon. A former friend and business partner said that Mr. Pelosi had plotted the murder a year in advance. An inmate Mr. Pelosi befriended in jail secretly recorded their conversations. Even Mr. Pelosi's father testified for the prosecution and then scolded Mr. Pelosi from the witness stand.

After six weeks of testimony from 40 witnesses in Long Island's most-watched murder trial in a decade, prosecutors have presented a stronger case against Mr. Pelosi than anyone had expected, painting him as a greedy who wooed Mr. Ammon's estranged wife and committed the murder to get at Mr. Ammon's fortune, according to lawyers who have followed the case....

 

[lisafremont]

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/l...,0,2566429.story?coll=ny-topstories-headlines

Niece's testimony supports Pelosi alibi

BY ROBIN TOPPING AND SAMUEL BRUCHEY
STAFF WRITERS

December 2, 2004

Kelly Lukert recalled being startled out of her sleep in the predawn hours of Oct. 21, 2001, when her little dog Elvis "started going crazy" and she heard someone coming into her mother's Center Moriches home.

The 15-year-old niece of Daniel Pelosi checked the clock in the master bedroom, where she was sleeping with her mother. It was between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. "I looked up and saw Uncle Danny. He wanted to know where the blankets were," Lukert said at Pelosi's murder trial in Riverhead Wednesday.

Lukert's testimony could be critical to Pelosi's alibi that he was in Center Moriches when Theodore Ammon was being bludgeoned to death in the bedroom of his East Hampton mansion....

 

[lisafremont]

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/21084.htm

MY GAY TED TRYST

by Kieran Crowley

December 2, 2004 -- Danny Pelosi's defense kicked off yesterday with a gay man who described a lurid homosexual encounter he claims he had with Ted Ammon two years before the millionaire financier was slain.
The defense is airing its theory that Ammon was not killed by Pelosi, but by men who followed him home from a gay Hamptons beach. To prove the point, Pelosi's lawyer quizzed artist Sam Wagner, who lived down the lane from the victim's sprawling East Hampton mansion.

Wagner testified he ran into Ammon — who he claimed was jogging while sexually aroused — in 1999, two years before Ammon was killed.

"I noticed that he had an erection," Wagner told defense lawyer Gerald Shargel of the meeting along posh Middle Lane in East Hampton....

 

[lisafremont]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime_file/story/258152p-221106c.html

PELOSI'S X-RATED WITNESS

Trysted with Ted, he sez

BY ROBERT GEARTY and BILL HUTCHINSON
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

A self-described "all-American gay human being" testified yesterday he once had sex with slain millionaire Ted Ammon - bolstering murder defendant Danny Pelosi's theory that the mogul was killed during a homosexual tryst.
The X-rated testimony of Manhattan pop artist Sam Wagner kicked off the defense case in the sensational murder trial of the Long Island electrician....

 

[lisafremont]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/02/nyregion/02pelosi.html?oref=login&pagewanted=all

Niece Provides Partial Alibi in Murder Trial
By PATRICK HEALY

RIVERHEAD, N.Y., Dec. 1 - If Daniel Pelosi is found not guilty of murdering R. Theodore Ammon, he may owe his freedom in part to his 15-year-old niece.

Mr. Pelosi's niece, Kelly Lukert, provided a partial alibi for his whereabouts in the early hours of Oct. 21, 2001, the time during which Mr. Ammon was beaten to death in his sprawling East Hampton home. On Wednesday, Ms. Lukert testified that Mr. Pelosi had stayed at her house that night, and popped into her bedroom between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. to ask where he could find blankets....