Cortlandt Manor - Homicide - 4/2/07

[RWC130 594]

Death in Cortlandt 'suspicious'

By REKA BALA

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: April 3, 2007)

CORTLANDT - State police last night were investigating a "suspicious death" of a Fordal Place resident whom neighbors described as an elderly man.

Troopers received a 911 call about 5:30 p.m. and responded to 22 Fordal Place, where they found the body, said Capt. Robert Meyers of the state police.

Meyer characterized the death as suspicious but declined to provide any details, including the victim's name, gender and weapon used.

The owner of the house is listed as 86-year-old Richard J. McKeon.

No one else was in the house, an elegant multistory building at the top of a hill in the Lake Peekskill section of town near the Putnam County line. Police tape last night cordoned off the area as police investigated the death.

Gary Visoky, 39, who lives cater-cornered to the house, described the person as an older man whom he did not know well.

"He was always a quiet man and kept to himself, and he seemed like a nice gentleman," Visoky said, adding that he always felt safe in the quiet neighborhood.

"If you don't know somebody up here, you're not going to come here just to drive around," he said.

Visoky said he did not hear or see anything suspicious.

Another neighbor, Karen Doherty, said police appeared in the area around 6 p.m. She was told by an officer that the victim was found dead inside his home. She said the officer told her the death appeared suspicious.

Doherty said the man was in his 80s and lived by himself. "He was kind of a loner who more or less stayed to himself," he said. "I'd see him walking around from time to time, but that was about it. We never really talked much."

Staff writer Bill Hughes contributed to this report

Reach Reka Bala at rbala1@lohud.com or 914-696-8570.

[Guest]

Troopers were very mum about this one. They'll provide details later this morning.

[Oswegowind 17]

what's up with Lake Peekskill????? This is like the 5th incident up there in almost a year...seems like it should be a quiet place...Growing up in the area, I have been there and it is more like back roads bum (you know what)...most of the roads are dusty and woodsey...Ya never know.

[Guest]

Police are not releasing vic's name pending notification of next of kin. They say they have a person of interest they want to talk to.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

I just wanted to add that the NYSP initial arriving troopers and investigator did a fantastic job. Hats off to them for a very professional and well done job. Also applauds to the BLSFR from Lake Mohegan who were on the scene with me also, very professional and well performed job in regard to a crime scene. How that was handled on the EMS side is how it should always be done. Great job brothers!

Edited April 5, 2007 by alsfirefighter

[Oswegowind 17]

So they got biker bob...He has always been around Peekskill...kind of nutty

Suspect in custody is Robert Gallo.

Neighbor stands in for slain Cortlandt veteran

By TERENCE CORCORAN

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: April 6, 2007)

CORTLANDT - Hank Henry probably had a lot better things to do yesterday than hang around Town Court.

But the 40-year-old Lake Peekskill man felt he had to be there.

"I'm standing in for the old man," he said.

The "old man" - Richard J. McKeon - was his neighbor for the past 13 years, ever since Henry bought his house on Fordal Place in the community straddling the Putnam-Westchester county line. The 86-year-old was beaten and stabbed to death last week, and yesterday's court appearance was for the man accused of killing him.

Over the years, Henry came to know and respect McKeon, a World War II veteran who lived alone.

"He never married, never had kids, but he was a nice old man," Henry said.

On Monday, after neighbors noticed newspapers piling up outside the house, Henry's daughter and another neighborhood girl knocked on McKeon's door. When they got no answer, Henry went inside and found him dead.

The suspect, Robert J. Gallo, 52, is charged with second-degree murder. Gallo, known around Putnam Valley and northern Cortlandt as "Bicycle Bob" because he was always riding his bike, has been essentially homeless since Putnam County foreclosed on his late parents' Lake Peekskill house in the 1990s. His last known address was at a boarding house in Baldwin Place.

Henry said he would always see Gallo working at McKeon's house. Henry, a metal worker who's retired on disability, said he would see McKeon climb a ladder and get on his roof, and he would run over to help.

"I'd offer to help him around the house, but he'd say, 'No, I'll have Bob do it. He needs the money,' " Henry said.

State police said yesterday that they believe Gallo had made arrangements to live with McKeon, but the older man changed his mind.

"He was homeless and fairly desperate," said Senior Investigator Bruce Cuccia. "He believed he had an agreement to stay there, but then the deceased changed his mind and that may have prompted Mr. Gallo's actions."

Gallo had no criminal record.

Police placed McKeon's death around March 25, eight days before Henry discovered the body. They quickly identified Gallo as a person of interest and arrested him early Wednesday at a Mahopac motel. Although Gallo apparently cut his long beard and hair, Cuccia said police did not consider it a serious attempt to disguise himself because he made no effort to leave the area.

"He's a creature of habit," Cuccia said.

Gallo was cuffed at the ankles and wrists when he appeared before Town Justice Daniel A. McCarthy yesterday.

He did not enter a plea, but was represented by Jerome P. Kiley of the Legal Aid Society of Westchester. McCarthy scheduled a felony hearing for Tuesday and sent Gallo back to the Westchester County jail without bail.

Elizabeth Orozco/The Journal News

Robert J. Gallo, 52, left, appeared in Cortlandt Town Court yesterday. Gallo was charged with second-degree murder in the beating and stabbing death of Richard J. McKeon, 86, of Lake Peekskill.

Edited April 6, 2007 by Oswegowind