Two men have been arrested and charged with intimidating a witness in the investigation of the murder of former Fairfield student Mark Fisher.
Thomas Saleh, 22, and James Petrillo, 21, were both arrested Thursday night, according to the New York Times.
The two allegedly met with a witness in the case and made references to an episode of “The Sopranos” in which a witness who cooperated with the police was killed, said assistant district attorney Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi.
Saleh and Petrillo are friends of John Guica, who was arrested and charged on December 19 with the murder and robbery of Fisher, according to Newsday. Guica allegedly supplied Antonio Russo with the pistol used to kill Fisher.
Brooklyn district attorney Charles J. Hynes told the New York Times that Petrillo, Saleh and Guica were part of a close circle of friends called “GM” or “Ghetto Mafia.”
According to Newsday, Petrillo was also charged with two counts of perjury stemming from his prior testimony before a grand jury. Both Petrillo and Saleh face up to four years in prison if convicted.
Russo appeared in court on Friday disheveled and answered the judge inaudibly, according to the New York Times. Due to this behavior Judge Marrus approved a hearing to assess his mental status.
“I was unable to effectively communicate with him, and that’s why I requested a psychiatric exam,” said Jonathan Fink, Russo’s count-appointed lawyer to the New York Times.
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