Widow stares down murder suspectGives alleged killer 'killer look'
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Elizabeth Gottlieb stood 10 feet behind murder suspect Reginald Gousse as he was being arraigned on second-degree murder charges in First District Court in Hempstead on Feb. 11 and gave him an icy stare. Gousse never made eye contact with her, she said.
"You know that old expression, 'If looks could kill'? Well, that's the way I looked at him," she said after the arraignment. "He looked gruesome, bigger than I thought he would be.
"I'm very relieved that he will not be able to do it to anyone else," Gottlieb said. "It was kind of frightening to be there [in court]. He looked like a mean type of guy."
She said she was very happy that a suspect had been arrested and charged in her husband's murder, but added, "It still won't bring my husband back."
James Gottlieb, 49, a father of three from Garden City South, was on his way home the evening of Jan. 5 from HSBC Bank, at 125 Cedarhurst Ave. in Cedarhurst, where he had worked as an assistant bank manager since last July, when he was stopped on Semton Boulevard, north of Fenworth Boulevard, at 7 p.m., by a man posing as a police officer driving an SUV with blue and white flashing police-style lights. Gottlieb apparently resisted the phony cop's demands to be handcuffed, was pistol-whipped and then fatally shot as he fled from his car to a nearby home. Investigators said the assailant apparently was after the key to the Cedarhurst bank.
Nassau County homicide detectives, with the assistance of New York City police, arrested Gousse, 31, of 148th Drive in Rosedale, near his home at Brookville Boulevard and 148th Drive, last Thursday. As police closed in, Gousse tried to escape by ramming his 2001 Mercedes-Benz into two police vehicles before he was subdued and taken into custody, detectives said. Gousse was being held without bail at the Nassau County jail. The murder weapon has not yet been recovered, investigators said.
Detectives said that Gousse has a lengthy history of committing armed robberies of store managers in Nassau County, Brooklyn and Queens while impersonating a police officer. Police said he cased his victims for days, stalking them before pulling them over in an SUV using sirens and police lights, handcuffing them and bringing them back to their store or place of business, which he would then rob.
In 1998, Gousse was arrested in Queens during a police impersonation and robbery, and was released from prison in March 2004. "At the time, he was charged with a laundry list of offenses," Detective Sgt. Dennis Barry of the Nassau County Homicide Squad said last Friday during a press conference held at police headquarters to announce the arrest of Gousse in the Gottlieb murder.
About a month after Gousse was released from prison, he followed a night manager of Waldbaum's in the Bay Harbour Mall in North Lawrence to Cambria Heights, where he pulled her over with a siren and flashing lights, police said. He then handcuffed her and brought her back to the supermarket, where he forced her to open a safe, stealing more than $11,700, investigators said.
After he was released from his six-year prison term, Gousse pulled the same stunt about five times during a three-month period, detectives said. "This is an evil individual who preys on other people, because it's much easier than to earn a living," said Barry. "He has admitted his role in the robberies, but he denies shooting [Gottlieb]. 'It's not my method of operation,'" Barry quoted Gousse as saying following the suspect's arrest.
Nevertheless, Barry said, "We're confident he's the man."
Barry said that all of the robberies fit the same pattern -- with the exception of the Gottlieb case, in which the robber ended up killing his victim. "Here you had an individual who refused to be handcuffed," Barry said of Gottlieb, "and the result was that Reginald Gousse turned to violence."
The victim's wife said that her husband was the type that would struggle with his attacker. "My husband probably put up a fight," she said. "I think he was trying to protect himself."
Homicide detectives followed hundreds of leads in the case and, in conjunction with HSBC bank, offered a $27,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. The key lead in the murder came on Jan. 14, when a tipster familiar with the suspect told police that they might want to look into Gousse's background, detectives said.
Shortly after his alleged crime spree last year, Gousse was stopped for speeding in Amarillo, Texas, on Aug. 14, and inside his rented Ford Crown Victoria police found a siren, a phony police uniform and a 9 mm handgun, officials said. He was arrested on felony charges, but they were dropped by a federal judge who reportedly ruled that police did not have enough cause to hold Gousse. Barry said that Gousse was on his way to Phoenix at the time to rob a drug dealer.
Two days before the Gottlieb murder, Gousse bought a police scanner from a Radio Shack in Valley Stream, and on the day of the murder he rented a black 2004 Ford Expedition from Hertz at JFK Airport, Barry said. It was a two-day rental, but the Expedition was returned at 10 a.m. the day after the murder, with a day and a half left on the rental, Barry said.
Since the murder, the victim's wife said she has had trouble sleeping and has experienced recurring nightmares. "I can relax now," she said after the arrest. "But I'll never forget what happened. I can't bring my husband back."
She thanked the police, her friends, family, her husband's co-workers and strangers who have supported her throughout the ordeal. "We've just gotten tremendous support from everyone," she said. "My husband was the type of person that everyone liked."
HSBC bank officials applauded police following the arrest. "All of us at HSBC would like to commend the Nassau County law enforcement officials for their tireless efforts in solving this crime. ... James Gottlieb was loved by many and, while nothing can bring him back, this arrest will go a long way in bringing relief to the Gottlieb family and to all of Jim's co-workers and friends at HSBC," read a statement by bank officials. "HSBC is proud to be a part of this outstanding community, which banded together to solve this crime and to support this family in their time of need."
Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, who attended last week's press conference at police headquarters, commended county detectives for finding the suspect.
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"You know that old expression, 'If looks could kill'? Well, that's the way I looked at him," she said after the arraignment. "He looked gruesome, bigger than I thought he would be.
"I'm very relieved that he will not be able to do it to anyone else," Gottlieb said. "It was kind of frightening to be there [in court]. He looked like a mean type of guy."
She said she was very happy that a suspect had been arrested and charged in her husband's murder, but added, "It still won't bring my husband back."
James Gottlieb, 49, a father of three from Garden City South, was on his way home the evening of Jan. 5 from HSBC Bank, at 125 Cedarhurst Ave. in Cedarhurst, where he had worked as an assistant bank manager since last July, when he was stopped on Semton Boulevard, north of Fenworth Boulevard, at 7 p.m., by a man posing as a police officer driving an SUV with blue and white flashing police-style lights. Gottlieb apparently resisted the phony cop's demands to be handcuffed, was pistol-whipped and then fatally shot as he fled from his car to a nearby home. Investigators said the assailant apparently was after the key to the Cedarhurst bank.
Nassau County homicide detectives, with the assistance of New York City police, arrested Gousse, 31, of 148th Drive in Rosedale, near his home at Brookville Boulevard and 148th Drive, last Thursday. As police closed in, Gousse tried to escape by ramming his 2001 Mercedes-Benz into two police vehicles before he was subdued and taken into custody, detectives said. Gousse was being held without bail at the Nassau County jail. The murder weapon has not yet been recovered, investigators said.
Detectives said that Gousse has a lengthy history of committing armed robberies of store managers in Nassau County, Brooklyn and Queens while impersonating a police officer. Police said he cased his victims for days, stalking them before pulling them over in an SUV using sirens and police lights, handcuffing them and bringing them back to their store or place of business, which he would then rob.
In 1998, Gousse was arrested in Queens during a police impersonation and robbery, and was released from prison in March 2004. "At the time, he was charged with a laundry list of offenses," Detective Sgt. Dennis Barry of the Nassau County Homicide Squad said last Friday during a press conference held at police headquarters to announce the arrest of Gousse in the Gottlieb murder.
About a month after Gousse was released from prison, he followed a night manager of Waldbaum's in the Bay Harbour Mall in North Lawrence to Cambria Heights, where he pulled her over with a siren and flashing lights, police said. He then handcuffed her and brought her back to the supermarket, where he forced her to open a safe, stealing more than $11,700, investigators said.
After he was released from his six-year prison term, Gousse pulled the same stunt about five times during a three-month period, detectives said. "This is an evil individual who preys on other people, because it's much easier than to earn a living," said Barry. "He has admitted his role in the robberies, but he denies shooting [Gottlieb]. 'It's not my method of operation,'" Barry quoted Gousse as saying following the suspect's arrest.
Nevertheless, Barry said, "We're confident he's the man."
Barry said that all of the robberies fit the same pattern -- with the exception of the Gottlieb case, in which the robber ended up killing his victim. "Here you had an individual who refused to be handcuffed," Barry said of Gottlieb, "and the result was that Reginald Gousse turned to violence."
The victim's wife said that her husband was the type that would struggle with his attacker. "My husband probably put up a fight," she said. "I think he was trying to protect himself."
Homicide detectives followed hundreds of leads in the case and, in conjunction with HSBC bank, offered a $27,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. The key lead in the murder came on Jan. 14, when a tipster familiar with the suspect told police that they might want to look into Gousse's background, detectives said.
Shortly after his alleged crime spree last year, Gousse was stopped for speeding in Amarillo, Texas, on Aug. 14, and inside his rented Ford Crown Victoria police found a siren, a phony police uniform and a 9 mm handgun, officials said. He was arrested on felony charges, but they were dropped by a federal judge who reportedly ruled that police did not have enough cause to hold Gousse. Barry said that Gousse was on his way to Phoenix at the time to rob a drug dealer.
Two days before the Gottlieb murder, Gousse bought a police scanner from a Radio Shack in Valley Stream, and on the day of the murder he rented a black 2004 Ford Expedition from Hertz at JFK Airport, Barry said. It was a two-day rental, but the Expedition was returned at 10 a.m. the day after the murder, with a day and a half left on the rental, Barry said.
Since the murder, the victim's wife said she has had trouble sleeping and has experienced recurring nightmares. "I can relax now," she said after the arrest. "But I'll never forget what happened. I can't bring my husband back."
She thanked the police, her friends, family, her husband's co-workers and strangers who have supported her throughout the ordeal. "We've just gotten tremendous support from everyone," she said. "My husband was the type of person that everyone liked."
HSBC bank officials applauded police following the arrest. "All of us at HSBC would like to commend the Nassau County law enforcement officials for their tireless efforts in solving this crime. ... James Gottlieb was loved by many and, while nothing can bring him back, this arrest will go a long way in bringing relief to the Gottlieb family and to all of Jim's co-workers and friends at HSBC," read a statement by bank officials. "HSBC is proud to be a part of this outstanding community, which banded together to solve this crime and to support this family in their time of need."
Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, who attended last week's press conference at police headquarters, commended county detectives for finding the suspect.
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