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Private investigator Jay Salpeter, of Glen Cove, has been indicted after allegedly attempting to extort his client over the course of more than three years through threatening emails and phone calls, Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced.
Salpeter, age 69, was arraigned on Monday, May 10, and charged with second-degree attempted grand larceny, two counts of fourth-degree attempted grand larceny by extortion, and two counts of aggravated harassment.
It is alleged that between Jan. 12, 2018, and Saturday, March 27 this year, Salpeter sent or left his former client, Martin Tankleff, dozens of emails and voicemails threatening him and attempting to obtain money for services Salpeter believed he was owed.
Singas said that Salpeter was employed as a private investigator as part of a defense team that secured Tankleff’s exoneration after he was convicted in Suffolk County in 1990 of murdering his parents and sentenced to a term of 50 years to life in prison.
The charges were dropped in 2008.
Salpeter allegedly sent emails threatening to cause physical injuries to Tankleff if he failed to give Salpeter money and left voicemails threatening to harm Tankleff’s reputation or expose secrets if he failed to pay.
If he is convicted, Salpeter faces a term of between two and seven years in prison. He is scheduled to make his next court appearance on Monday, June 7.
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