Newsday article, Marty Tankleff. thoughts???

Below is the article that appeared in yesterday's Newsday. I'm a lawyer and I try to read a lot about this case as sort of a hobby. The appeals have taken so long that I took a break from following the case for many months until today, when DH sent me this new info.

I grew up on Long Island and remember the case well from before I ever went to law school. I think that an innocent kid went to jail. Not 100% sure but one thing is certain, the investigation was botched! Curious what my LIW buddies think. More info at www.martytanleff.org




Teen: My dad, partner killed Tankleffs in 1988
Testimony that also includes talk of hush money casts doubt on role of Martin Tankleff in death of parents

BY ZACHARY R. DOWDY
STAFF WRITER

December 20, 2005

The son of a Selden man who Martin Tankleff's attorneys say committed the Sept. 7, 1988, attack on Tankleff's parents, Arlene and Seymour, testified that his father choked and beat Seymour Tankleff while his partner stabbed his wife to death as she slept.

Joseph J. Guarascio, 17, of Sarasota, Fla., also testified in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead that his father Joseph Creedon paid James McCready, a detective investigating the case, $100,000 to 'keep his name out of it.'

The teenager's testimony sparked gasps in Judge Stephen L. Braslow's courtroom and buoyed the hopes of Tankleff's supporters since it seemed to cast doubt on Suffolk prosecutors' contention that Martin Tankleff murdered his parents.

'When we were driving I just had to know: Did you do that?' Guarascio testified yesterday, recalling a question he asked Creedon during a visit to Long Island in April 2004. 'The seriousness I got from him when he said 'Yes' was scary, really scary.'

Martin Tankleff, who confessed to the crimes under questioning by McCready and another detective - but quickly recanted the confession - was convicted of the two murders in 1990 and is serving a 50-years-to-life sentence.

That confession, which Tankleff's attorneys contend was coerced, was the linchpin of the prosecution's case.

Guarascio submitted an affidavit last summer outlining his father's alleged role in the crimes. In the affidavit and in his testimony yesterday, he said Creedon said he choked Seymour Tankleff with a cable from a bike brake, and beat him with a .38-caliber gun.

Guarascio also testified and swore in the affidavit that another man, Peter Kent, stabbed Arlene Tankleff to death.

Guarascio also said that the two men entered the home when Jerry Steuerman, Seymour Tankleff's business partner, gave them a signal, and that another man, Glenn Harris, had driven the men to the Belle Terre home but did not take part in the killings.

Creedon, Steuerman and Kent have all denied a role in the murders, and Harris has stated in an affidavit and letters that he only drove the men to and from the home and discarded a pipe used in the killings.

The ongoing hearing before Braslow, which began in July of last year, will determine whether Tankleff and his attorneys, Barry Pollack of Washington and Bruce Barket of Garden City, have amassed enough new evidence to vacate the conviction and warrant a new trial.

Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.

I always knew he was innocent. My cousin was very good friends with him.

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Posted by ssdbk

Well, one thing is certain. The police and DA did not investigate the many leads that pointed to other people besides Marty.

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I couldn't agree more with you.

Now more than ever, how can they just turn their head to this? It's very sad.

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Posted by Cindy

I had heard years back of something of the mothers fingernails. I didn't know they had something they could test. They just did a segment on Larry King last night on wrongfully convicted being set free due to DNA. Maybe this will happen in this case.

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I missed the segment on Larry King, but apparently there was a reporter involved who is a Marty Tankleff supporter.

It's already been established that the mom struggled with her attacker, so I assume there is a good chance of finding the attacker's DNA on or under her nails. And I think that fingernail clippings are saved from all autopsies done at the county medical examiner's office. I know that they save bodily tissue, so they don't have to exume bodies if info is needed later. Eeeeeeeew. I can't even imagine what the crime scene must have looked like in this case.

I grew up in Setauket- so we always followed the case- I hope he gets a new trial- I never thought he did it

I watched a 48 mystery or dateline on the case- it's a shame what happened to him- these things happen all the time - people get forced into signing confessions- hell after hours and hours of questioning- one of us would probably admitt to the crime-

What's very interesting. Some people think the Joe Creedon may have told some people he did it but that he really didn't. They think he wanted to sound tough because he was a collector for a drug dealer and wanted to be known as a tough guy who had guns. The people who say that still think it was Marty Tankleff. But, Joe Creedon's son said that his dad mentioned that after the killings he went up a few steps to Marty's room to check that Marty was asleep. Well, that shows he was in the house at some point because sure enough, Marty's room was up a few steps. The house was a very large split level (there are maps on some websites, I think). Also, that version of the story is consistent with the bloody glove prints found on Marty's light switch.

Like I said before, there are leads that point to other people besides Marty. There are new leads plus old leads that were totally ignored way back when.

I'll be giving more tidbits as we wait for a decision on this case!

I'm trying to find out when there could be news from the judge. Does anyone here know?

This is like reading a crime novel but having to wait for the next chapter. Usually law stuff can be so boring (saying that as a lawyer) but not this!!!!

I don't think that the judge has to make a decision within a certain amount of time (??), but often there are some pretty good indicators as to when a decision will come. So, I was wondering if anyone heard anything about such indicators!

So, tonight my husband told me that he thinks that my interest in the Tankleff case is actually healthy. It gives me something besides work to focus on now that the wedding is over and it's something that has nothing to do with our friends, many of whom are moving out of state and we are sad to see them go. Plus, it keeps me abreast of Suffolk politics, which I should know about as a lawyer.

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Posted by ssdbk

And the other tidbit that keeps coming into my mind this week--there was already a hit out on the father. Someone (the former bus, partner, I think) hired someone to kill him at one of his bagel stores and they were all ready to do it, but the father (Tankleff) didn't show up that day. I think it was a few weeks or a few months before the actual killings. I guess the father didn't know about it because I assume he could have afforded hired protection!

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yes I think this is true- Strathmore bagels- also in my town- they sold it before the murders- his partner was very shady
I saw this on the show I watched

I heard this Judge is pretty easy going- I belive the nickname is 'let them go' Braslow- hopefully it will work in his favor

I remember watching a Court TV special on the case. The retired investigator who was interviewing people, in the beginning, did not believe Marty, but by the end, he wasn't sure anymore, but he did believe that the entire investigation was botched and he deserved another trial.

I hope they do come back and grant him a new trial. There was also another movie on Court TV about a child being convicted of a crime from being coerced in giving a false confession. It happens a lot more often than people think.