But the man, Anthony Comello, gave several conflicting accounts about what happened the night the reputed mobster, Francesco Cali, was fatally shot. Though Comello has acknowledged being at the scene, investigators have been unable to corroborate many of his claims or to establish a motive for the shooting, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an open investigation.
Comello was arrested in Brick Township, New Jersey, on Saturday morning and spoke to investigators for “quite some time” before retaining a lawyer, and made statements that were recorded on videotape, a third person with knowledge of the matter said Monday.
Comello made an initial appearance in court in Ocean County, New Jersey, on Monday afternoon. He waived extradition to New York “without reference to guilt or innocence” during the 15-minute court hearing.
Comello is facing murder, weapons and assault charges in the death of Cali, who was shot at close range Wednesday night in front of his house in the Todt Hill section of Staten Island.
While police have said the investigation is still in its early stages, several law enforcement officials have said the killing does not appear to be mob-related, even though detectives are still seeking to nail down the motive.
In his recorded statements to New York detectives, Comello gave conflicting accounts of what happened, but put himself at the murder scene, according to the two officials.
Comello told detectives Saturday that he had a romantic interest in one of Cali’s female relatives and that Cali had told him to stay away. He also said that he was high on marijuana at the time and shot Cali because he feared the crime figure had a gun and would shoot him.
He stopped talking to the detectives, who were questioning him in Ocean County, after his lawyer, Robert C. Gottlieb, was retained to represent him.
Gottlieb said in the statement that the accusations against his client were a severe departure from the conduct his family and friends had come to expect from him.
“The people who know him best, his family and friends, cannot believe what they are hearing,” Gottlieb said. “There is something very wrong here, and we will get to the bottom of it.”
Police have said Comello lured Cali out of his house by backing his pickup truck into Cali’s Cadillac Escalade and then ringing the doorbell, apparently to tell him about the incident. A surveillance camera near the front door, one official has said, captured a clear image of Comello’s face.
Several law enforcement officials have said that the slaying itself was also captured on surveillance video, and the two men were seen talking, apparently calmly. Then the gunman picked up the Escalade’s license plate, which had been knocked off in the fender bender, and handed it to Cali before he opened fire. Comello’s fingerprints were found on the license plate, the officials said.
It was unclear when he would be arraigned in Staten Island on the charges. If he is held without bail after his arraignment in Staten Island, the New York City Department of Correction will likely put him in protective custody because of concerns that he could be targeted by angry Gambino crime family members.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.