SUNNYSIDE — The NYPD is renewing its efforts to find the suspects wanted for the killing of Lou Rispoli, a gay activist and local resident who was fatally assaulted while walking in Sunnyside in 2012.
The 108th Precinct recently tweeted previously released sketches of two of the three men suspected of striking Rispoli, 62, over the head with an object on Oct. 20, 2012 as he walked on 43rd Avenue. The tweets asked for anyone with information to come forward.
"I'm happy they're keeping on top of it," Rispoli's husband, Danyal Lawson, said of the continued effort to solve the more than two-year-old crime.
"Of course it's still very sad for me that two and half years later, still nothing," he said.
Capt. John Travaglia, who took over as the commanding officer of the 108th Precinct in November, told the Daily News this week that he believes the case is "solvable."
"There are multiple people who observed the assault of Mr. Rispoli," he told the paper. Travaglia did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Police are offering a $22,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and indictment in the case, according to the sketch posters, which says the suspects are believed to have fled the scene in a light-colored sports car. They are described as in their mid-20s.
The NYPD was probing how officers handled the investigation of the case after a reported 36-hour delay in the crime scene unit arriving.
The status of that investigation was not clear.
Rispoli, a longtime Sunnyside resident, had most recently worked as an administrator at the Greenwich House Music School in Greenwich Village, which held a tribute concert in his memory in 2013.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.