Police Seek Answers In Murder Of Property Manager In Brooklyn
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police were trying to solve a murder mystery in Brooklyn on Tuesday night, after a property manager was shot dead while out collecting rent.
As CBS 2's Lou Young reported, Paul Setteducato was shot and killed on the job in East Flatbush, and police are trying to figure out if he was targeted.
Police found the body lying next to a late-model Mercedes on Erasmus Street on Monday evening. The car belonged to the victim.
Setteducato, 64, was shot three times in what appeared to be a robbery as he collected rent for a management company. Neighbors who saw the aftermath of the murder were still haunted by the sight Tuesday night.
"That stuff, you see it on TV," said Brent Payne. "You don't expect to see it up close and personal."
"They took away not only my father, but my best friend," said the victim's daughter, Janine Setteducato.
The victim left behind a wife of 36 years, two daughters, two grandchildren and seven siblings. Janine Setteducato, his eldest daughter, said he was comfortable with his route and never had trouble before.
"My father knows every neighborhood in and out of Brooklyn, south, north, east; the worst neighborhoods -- Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan," she said. "He had no fear."
The East Flatbush neighborhood where the deadly shooting happened has had a rough reputation in the past, but lately the crime situation has improved dramatically.
Neighbors said Tuesday night that the shooter was not from the area. They thought the victim was tracked by his killer and killed as a matter of convenience and opportunity.
"They do nasty things in their neighborhood and then come to our neighborhood," a woman said. "I'm angry, yes, because it makes the neighborhood look bad."
Police on Tuesday were questioning anyone who was familiar with Paul Setteducato's movements, or knew that he carried cash. His family remained numb with grief Tuesday night.
"You took away my father so young," Janine Setteducato said. "He lived his life the way he wanted to, and I know he lived a full life, and he was a great man and a great provider, and he taught me everything that I know, and I just want justice."
The murder was particularly hard on the victim's wife and two younger grandchildren. Setteducato's wife was staying with their daughters as they planned a funeral.
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