Police: Charles Zolot, 65, Found Dead In Queens Law Office
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The NYPD is looking into the death of an attorney whose body was found Thursday morning in a law office in Queens.
Investigators from the 115th Precinct station house were told by the victim's co-workers there may have been bad blood between the lawyer and one of his clients, CBS2's Dave Carlin reported.
Detectives were inside the second-floor law office of Charles Zolot, where the divorce and custody attorney was discovered dead by a cleaner at around 6 a.m.
Police said the 65-year-old's body was found face up, with evidence of trauma to his head and torso.
"I'm a lawyer up there. We know Charlie for years and years. He's just a very nice, humble guy," Mark Drucker said.
Drucker said legal assistants said they overheard a loud argument around closing time inside the Jackson Heights office building on 82nd Street, adding they believe it may have involved one of Zolot's clients who was there, along with a third man.
"That was around 4:30, 5 o'clock. I was there, but we didn't hear any noise or anything like that," Drucker said. "It's scary. There are cameras on the floors. We asked for that and I think they have pictures of what's going on."
Zolot was unmarried with no children and lived alone in an apartment building in Kew Gardens.
Neighbors said he was quiet and friendly.
"He's a very nice guy, very nice," one woman said.
The woman, who did not want to be identified, said she relied on Zolot's legal services, and she heard from workers in the office about a possible motive for his killing.
"They go to the office and they have argument and then they kill him," she said.
"Over a divorce? Over real estate?" Carlin asked.
"Yes," the woman said.
Police did not confirm that version of events. Detectives did not release a suspect photo or video or description, or an alleged motive.
"As a lawyer, you are always afraid of some clients that can get really upset with you and we're living in a crazy time where people get very agitated very quickly," Drucker said.
Investigators did retrieve video from interior surveillance cameras that show a possible suspect, but that footage has not been made public, Carlin reported.
