June 15, 2005

DILLON ANNOUNCES:

GUILTY VERDICT IN CASE OF NORTH LONG BEACH MURDER

Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon announced that Mark Orlando, 34, of 1119 Joselson Avenue, Bayshore was found guilty yesterday after trial of Murder in the Second Degree, a Class A Felony.

The jury deliberated for approximately one day before they notified Nassau County Court Judge Dave Sullivan that they had reached a verdict.

According to Dillon, "On December 3, 2004, Mark Orlando made arrangements to meet the victim, Robert Calabrese, 24 of 519 E. Harrison Street, Long Beach. They met at around 8:36p.m. that Friday night along a secluded section of Broadway in North Long Beach, where Orlando was supposed to pay $17,000 in gambling losses. Unbeknownst to Calabrese, Orlando brought along a friend named Herve Jeannot, 23, of 159 Sammis Avenue, Deer Park, whom he paid to kill Calabrese. As Jeannot crouched and hid in the darkness, Orlando and Calabrese met between their cars and hugged as they always did. Orlando grabbed Calabrese’s sweatshirt from behind and yanked it up over his head to immobilize him for Jeannot, who came up behind Calabrese and shot him in the back of the head with a .44 caliber magnum revolver. Calabrese went down and Jeannot shot him two more times in the head. Calabrese was pronounced dead at the scene."

Orlando will be sentenced by Nassau County Court Judge Dave Sullivan on July 29, 2005. He faces 25 years to life in jail.

Co-defendant Herve Jeannot is currently awaiting trial and is charged with Murder in the First Degree, a Class A Felony and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a Class C Felony. The charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.