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Egg Harbor Township husband clear of Shires driveway murder charges
By REGINA SCHAFFER Staff Writer, 609-272-7211
Published: Friday, July 11, 2008
After being charged eight months ago with orchestrating the killing of his wife in a sensational murder-for-hire scheme, Fabio Garcia is now a free man.All charges against Garcia, 70, were quietly dismissed May 28 after "additional information" was reviewed in the case, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office confirmed Thursday. Garcia's arrest, in contrast, was followed by a news release to the media.Reached Thursday, Garcia's attorney said his client's reputation may be permanently damaged."He may have his faults," said Garcia's attorney, Lauriano Guz-man. "But he didn't kill his wife." Garcia was charged in Dec-ember with murder and conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the alleged murder-for-hire scheme that ended with his wife being gunned down outside their Egg Harbor Township home in front of their 8-year-old son.
Garcia's daughter, is charged with murder for hire and conspiracy to commit murder. She is incarcerated in New York on an unrelated charge.Ricky Irizarry, 29, of Queens and Schenectady, N.Y., is charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder for hire. Cristovaho Diaz, 27, of Ozone Park, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Both Irizarry and Diaz pleaded not guilty to the charges at an arraignment hearing Wednesday.In connection with forgery on insurance documents, Mirtha Gomez, 50, of Jackson Heights, N.Y., is charged with conspiracy to commit theft by deception in excess of $75,000.First Assistant Prosecutor Murray Talasnik said Thursday he could not address specific questions as to why charges against Garcia were dropped because the case is still pending. Speaking generally about similar cases, however, Talasnik said that sometimes evidence gathered during an investigation proves to be inconsistent."The fact that a homicide charge is made is not the end of the investigation," Talasnik said. "We continue to examine additional evidence as it comes to our attention. Sometimes that evidence supports the original decision, and sometime it proves to be inconsistent."In this matter, we continued to investigate the homicide after charges were brought in December," Talasnik said. "As a result of additional information, the decision was made to administratively dismiss the charges."Guzman said he also provided the Prosecutor's Office with a polygraph examination that Garcia passed."I think that the prosecutor did a thorough investigation," Guzman said. "They fully understood that Mr. Garcia had nothing to do with the homicide of his wife."In a court appearance in December, Garcia proclaimed his innocence."I am innocent. I'm not guilty of any of this," he said at the time through a translator.Lauriano said the charges against Garcia had serious repercussions."It's pretty devastating," Guzman said. "All of his neighbors thought that he was a killer. The only way his reputation will be repaired is through (the press). Guzman said Garcia remains a very distressed man despite being cleared of murder charges."He is a 70-year-old man who was suffering from a heart condition," Guzman said. "He was very distraught over the loss of his wife, and he was in fear of basically being incarcerated for the rest of his life."Guzman said Garcia is living in New Jersey. Garcia has also been reunited with his son, Juan, but Guzman was unsure if there was a custody arrangement in place at this time. Talasnik also could not confirm if Juan Garcia was living with his father or with other relatives.A status conference on the case is scheduled for July 30 before Superior Court Judge Michael Donio.E-mail Regina Schaffer:RSchaffer@pressofac.com