Man convicted in Calabrese slaying, then commits suicide hours later

Herve Jeannot, facing life in prison, is found dead in his jail cell, police

Posted
The man convicted on Tuesday of killing Long Beach resident Bobby Calabrese in 2004 and who was facing life in prison was found hanging in his cell in the Nassau County Correctional Center in what police said was an apparent suicide, just hours after the jury reached a verdict. Herve Jeannot, 29, was found hanging from a bed sheet on Tuesday at 11:45 p.m., according to Nassau County police. He was taken to Nassau University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Police said that the county medical examiner would determine the official cause of death. At a press conference on Wednesday morning, Detective Lt. John Azzata said that Jeannot left a note, which made no reference to his conviction. Police did not provide any more details about the note. “When anyone takes their own life, it’s not a good situation,” Azzata said. It took a jury in Nassau County Criminal Court just four hours to convict Jeannot of first-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon for his role in Calabrese’s death. He faced up to life in prison under the “murder for hire” statute and was to be sentenced on Dec. 10. District Attorney Kathleen Rice said that on Dec. 3, 2004, Jeannot, a resident of Deer Park, and a coworker, Mark Orlando, of Bayshore, arranged to meet with Calabrese in a deserted industrial area on Broadway in Island Park so that Orlando could pay Calabrese $17,000. Calabrese worked as a bookmaker’s runner, collecting debts and handing out winnings to bettors, Rice explained. Instead of paying his debt, however, Orlando had paid Jeannot, a former U.S. Marine, $4,000 to kill Calabrese. At the meeting, Orlando got out of his vehicle and approached Calabrese. After a brief verbal exchange between the two, Jeannot approached Calabrese and shot him once in the head with a .44 caliber revolver, and two more times in the back of the head as he lay on the ground, prosecutors said. Jeannot and Orlando were arrested six days later. Calabrese’s murder shocked his friends and family in Long Beach and surrounding communities, who described him as an amiable, handsome young man. He was a champion wrestler at Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale in the 1990s, and graduated from Long Beach High School in 1998. He was working as a mortgage broker in 2004, and was hoping to become a police officer, like his father. He was killed the day before he was scheduled to take the Long Beach Police Department test. Calabrese grew up in a tight-knit Italian family, his relatives said, and always looked out for his siblings and friends. “Bobby was a first-class guy and very outgoing,” his younger brother, Chris, said shortly after the verdict was announced. “His strongest quality was his family values, and he looked out for me and my little brother, Nicky. That’s what got us through this trial. I don’t know if there’s ever been a case where a family has had to sit through five murder trials.” While Orlando was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in 2005, this was the fourth trial for Jeannot. The first two, in 2005 and 2006, ended in hung juries. Last year, a state appellate court overturned a 2006 conviction on a technicality. On Tuesday, the jury rejected the defense’s claims that Orlando acted alone and that Jeannot was an innocent bystander. The verdict, Chris Calabrese said, put an end to years of enduring long days in court and reliving details about his brother’s death. “It’s been very hard and difficult for us, but I’m glad it’s over — we really have closure,” Chris said. “I miss my brother, and it would have been even harder knowing that someone got away with it.” Calabrese’s sister, Gina, said that she was shocked when she learned about Jeannot’s death, and that it was another senseless tragedy. “By killing himself, he brings even more pain and tragedy to his family,” she said. “My brother was a big believer in God, and I feel that he would have forgiven Jeannot. When I found out about it, I thought of his parents and I felt sorry for them.” Jeannot’s attorney, William Petrillo, did not return a call for comment as the Herald went to press. Alex Costello contributed to this story. Comments about it? Arifilato@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.