A federal jury found two men guilty of murdering New Jersey banker Maurice Spagnoletti in Puerto Rico more than a decade ago.
(Bloomberg) — A federal jury found two men guilty of murdering New Jersey banker Maurice Spagnoletti in Puerto Rico more than a decade ago.
Rolando Rivera Solis and Yadier Serrano Canales were convicted Thursday of gunning down Spagnoletti, an executive of the now defunct Doral Bank, as he drove home from work in San Juan. A third defendant, Luis Carmona Bernacet, was acquitted on the murder charge.
Spagnoletti, 57, became a target after he began cutting costs at the struggling bank, including the maintenance and janitorial contract of a company controlled by Rivera Solis. In retaliation, Solis, who was a key member of a violent drug gang, ordered the murder, prosecutors said.
On June 15, 2011, Spagnoletti’s black Lexus was riddled with bullets on a busy highway. Serrano Canales was accused of being the gunman.
NJ Banker’s 2011 Drive-By Murder Goes Before Puerto Rico Jury
Doral Bank eventually failed in 2015. Its 26 branches, including three in New York City and five in Florida, were divided up between four other banks.
After three days of deliberations, jurors in the Spagnoletti case also convicted five defendants of drug and weapons charges. An additional defendant will face trial later this year.
“Rolando Rivera Solis still protests his innocence and he will elevate his case to the First Circuit Court of Appeals,” his lawyer, Leo Aldridge, said in a written statement.
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