Jeannot Re-convicted at Fourth Murder Trial

A jury convicted a 29-year-old man of first-degree murder on Tuesday in the 2004 shooting death of a Long Beach man over a gambling debt.

The jury deliberated about four hours before finding Herve Jeannot of Deer Park guilty of killing Robert Calabrese, Jr., said Chris Munzing, a spokesman of Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice.

Jeannot was also convicted of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 10. He faces a maximum of life in prison under the "murder for hire" statute.

This marked the fourth time Jeannot was tried for the murder, with the first two ending in a hung jury, in 2005 and 2006.

He was convicted in August 2006 following a third trial and was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole. But an appellate court tossed out the verdict in February 2009 based on errors made by his former defense attorney, which denied him a fair trial.

The latest trial lasted more than a month, ending when Jeannot testified in his own defense last week.

A co-defendant, Mark Orlando, 40, of Bay Shore, was convicted of second-degree murder in June 2005 and sentenced to 25 years-to-life in prison.

For the Calabrese family, the whole process has been agonizing, sitting through a total of five trials and listening to graphic details of how Robert was slain.

"Oh my God, it's been torture," Gina Calabrese, the victim's sister, said minutes after the guilty verdict was read at 3 p.m. Tuesday.

But she added that she and her family were relieved that Jeannot was found guilty of first-degree murder.

"It's like a huge weight has been lifted off my family's shoulders," she said. "Since this was his fourth trial, we didn't know which way this could have gone. But the evidence was overwhelming. Now we are ready to move on with our lives."

She added that Jeannot has not shown any remorse for killing her brother.

According to DA Rice, on Dec. 3, 2004 at around 8:30 p.m., Jeannot and co-worker Orlando arranged to meet with Calabrese in a deserted industrial area on Broadway in Island Park under the guise of paying Calabrese a $17,000 debt. Calabrese worked as a bookmaker's runner, collecting debts and handing out winnings to bettors.

Instead of paying his debt, however, Orlando paid Jeannot, a former U.S. Marine, $4,000 to kill Calabrese, Rice said. At the meeting, Orlando exited his vehicle and approached Calabrese. After a brief verbal exchange between the two, Jeannot got out of Orlando's vehicle, approached Calabrese and shot him once in the head with a .44 caliber revolver. Jeannot then shot Calabrese two more times in the back of the head as he lay on the ground. Both men were arrested six days later.

"The overwhelming evidence in this case has proven that Herve Jeannot is no more than a liar and a cold-blooded murderer," Rice said. "The jury was able to see through his lies and ever-changing story and ensured that Robert Calabrese's family saw justice served."

Jeannot's attorney, William Petrillo, did not return a call for comment on Tuesday's guilty verdict. Prior to the start of the latest trial, Petrillo called Jeannot "an innocent man who was wrongfully accused."