STATEN ISLAND — The co-owner of a Staten Island children's boutique accused of stabbing a man to death in front of his toddler son was indicted Monday, District Attorney Michael McMahon said.
Richard Gambale, 41, co-owner of Lollipop Couture in Tottenville, was hit with a five-count indictment for the fatal stabbing of Anthony Perretti, 43, at a Rossville industrial park in January.
"The defendant in this case savagely stabbed his victim almost two dozen times," McMahon said in a statement.
"There is no justification for that level of violence and my prosecutors intend to argue that this was an intentional murder, and not self-defense."
On Jan 14., Gambale and Perretti had a dispute over money at 73 Industrial Loop at about 2:36 p.m. Shortly before the stabbing, Perretti hit Gambale with a metal fence post in the shoulder, prosecutors said.
Gambale then stabbed Perretti 22 times in his upper body while the victim's 2-year-old son was inside a car nearby, officials said.
He fled the location and threw away the knife and a bloody jacket he wore, prosecutors said.
Perretti was taken to Staten Island University Hospital South where he was pronounced dead.
Gambale was arrested in Manhattan four days after the stabbing, prosecutors said.
Both Gambale and Perretti were known to be involved with organized crime, with Perretti previously tied to the Bonanno crime family, a law enforcement source previously told DNAinfo New York.
Gambale previously served jail time after he was arrested as part of an ecstasy distribution ring, according to court records.
He was released from a federal jail in 2003, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Gambale was indicted on murder, tampering with physical evidence and criminal possession of a weapon charges, the DA said. He's due back in court on Wednesday.
Contact information for his lawyer was not immediately available.
