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From the New York Ledger
June 25, 2006
An eighteen year quest for justice came to an end in New York Superior State court as two men were convicted on murder charges stemming from a 1988 racially motivated beating.
Al Niro and Tony Zavaglia, both of Queens, were convicted on first degree murder charges for the beating death of James Roberts. The two men had savagely beat Roberts, an African American, out of retaliation for dating Niro’s ex-girlfriend in 1988 at a park in Graves End.
The charges carried special circumstances, with an attachment for a hate crime. Both men will spend the rest of their lives in prison.
Roberts survived the beating, but was in a vegetative state afterwards. He succumbed to his injuries last year, bringing about the murder charges on Niro and Zavaglia.
“This has brought an end to a quest for justice for the victim’s family,” said prosecutor Ron Carver. “But there was more justice to be handed out for those involved.”
The conviction rested on the testimony of Angela Del Marco, Niro’s girlfriend at the time, and who helped the two men set Roberts up for the assault. Afterwards, Miss Del Marco disappeared out of fear that Niro might go after her next to keep her quiet. There was speculation that she had actually died from an overdose after her disappearance.
Last year, Miss Del Marco was found at a Catholic church in Harlem, where she was a nun going by the name of “Sister Olivia.” At this church, she was engaged in rescuing prostitutes from their pimps and teaching the rescued girls how to cook in the church’s bakery.
“She did not die,” said detective Alexandra Eames, one of the investigators on the case, about Del Marco, “but she did go to heaven.”
For her role in the beating, Miss Del Marco will serve an indeterminate amount of time in the women’s prison at Bedford Hills per a plea deal with district attorney’s office.
The case started due to the death of a nun inside a church in Harlem.
Eddie Roberts, the younger brother of the murder victim and who had taken care of him, had gone on his own to find the woman who aided Niro and Zavaglia. Roberts, a phlebotomist from Queens, had confronted Sister Olivia’s mentor, Sister Dorothy, inside the Harlem church, as to the whereabouts of Miss Del Marco, and killed her accidentally.
Eddie Roberts took a plea of second degree manslaughter and will also serve an indeterminate amount of time in jail.
Though Miss Del Marco had assisted in the death of James Roberts, prosecutors and police investigators believe that her works as a nun for the Catholic church has shown that she more than repented for her past sins. Miss Del Marco said that her past self was “a wicked, wicked girl.”
“There was justice that was needed for everyone involved,” said Robert Goren, the lead detective on the case. “This has shown there was enough justice for everyone.”