Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli has blasted a private investigator hired to help solve the murder of an Elm Avenue man, calling the investigator’s comments in a newspaper article “irresponsible” and accused him of refusing to work with authorities.
Friends and relatives of slain resident Robert Cantor hired retired NYPD Detective Jay Salpeter to help solve the more than six-month-old shooting death, the Record reported last Thursday. Salpeter said he had a “person of interest” in the murder who previously confronted Cantor.
“Advertising to a defendant in the paper what he [Salpeter] suspects, what law enforcement knows or does not know is not recommended and, I suspect, done solely to justify the fee that he is charging individuals that, frankly, know nothing of the status of our investigation and certainly are in no position to comment on same much less speak with any authority on,” Molinelli said in an email last week.
Salpeter said outing a potential suspect would not jeopardize the case. Cantor’s killing resulted from a “personal dispute” between the victim and another man, Salpeter said.
“He knows he’s a person of interest,” Salpeter said in an interview with Patch last week. “I’ve never named the person.”
While investigators have focused on a suspect, they have been unable to establish the legal cause for an arrest, Salpeter said.
“There’s not enough evidence yet to make an arrest,” he said.
The prosecutor also said Salpeter has refused to share information with county investigators, a claim the detective denied.
“Our office has already reached out to Mr. Salpeter. He has not been cooperative at all to our office and does not wish to speak with us,” Molinelli said.
Cantor’s killing, one of two unsolved murders since August, has left many Teaneck residents on edge and frustrated with the progress of the investigations both being handled by the prosecutor’s office.
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“While I am cognizant of frustration that the loss of a loved one will have on any person, the public needs to know that these cases often take time when they are done right,” Molinelli said.
As for the prosecutor’s criticism, Salpeter said he was willing to share any information with county investigators. Salpeter said he has reached out to the prosecutor’s detective working the murder.
“I’m not going to criticize them and I’m not going to applaud them,” Salpeter said of the prosecutor’s office. “I’m not here to be their competitor.”
Salpeter, who has worked high profile cases including Arkansas’ West Memphis Three, said he hopes new information will be gained through a tip line he created.
“You [police] need help from the public,” he said. “Tip lines can be very helpful.”
Salpeter said he had received a call through the tipline, but declined to provide specifics.
The two unsolved murders have brought media and public scrutiny to the prosecutor’s office. Molinelli has released few details of the crimes, but has said Cantor’s death and the killing of Alpine Drive resident Joan Davis are not linked. Salpeter agreed that the two crimes are not related.
The prosecutor has also held a rare meeting with Teaneck’s Community Relations Board to reassure residents his office was actively investigating both cases.
