A careful killer: Slayer of Rudy's ex-aide took keys, phone, laptop

BY RICH SCHAPIRO, ALISON GENDAR and JONATHAN LEMIRE
New York Daily News
Aug. 26, 2006

The killer fled with the dead man's keys.

Detectives investigating the grisly slaying of a former press aide to Mayor Rudy Giuliani have discovered that the murderer took the victim's keys, cell phone and laptop computer, law enforcement sources said yesterday.

Police believe the killer - who bolted the door on his way out of Martín Barreto's million-dollar home - was trying to cover his tracks, the sources said.

But he may have been caught by a side-door surveillance camera - the only one of the roughly 20 cameras at the tony Greenwich Village apartment building that was operating at the time of the slaying.

Cops canvassed the neighborhood yesterday with a photo taken from the camera of a 6-foot-tall white man they described as a "person of interest" in the case.

Investigators were also examining Barreto's desktop computer in hopes of finding evidence.

Barreto, 48, a respected public relations guru who lived an opulent lifestyle in both Manhattan and Miami, was found naked and strangled late Monday. Police said he was likely killed late Saturday or early Sunday.

Barreto was found lying on a bed near a variety of safe-sex aids and an empty condom rapper. The only valuables taken from the home were the computer and cell phone, a source said.

"Since they grabbed the laptop, but left his jewelry, the sense is that it may be one of the guys he picked up through the Internet," the source said, adding that nothing has been ruled out.

The source noted that Barreto also had given several ex-boyfriends keys to the E. 10th St. home - making it possible the killer already had a set.

Barreto's loved ones were holding out hope yesterday that his murderer would be caught soon.

"Whoever did this was smart enough to know that he would be traced," said Roxanna Brightwell, who ran a public relations firm with Barreto. "If [the death] was a mistake during sex, which is possible, this person needs to own up to it.

"And if it's murder, this person must be brought to justice."

A variety of men often visited Barreto, who neighbors say frequently brought home dates or hired male prostitutes.

"We are in incredible pain. Martín is a loss that we're always going to struggle with," said his grieving sister Julieta Barreto, 44. "He was my older brother, and I always looked up to him as a hero."

The former reporter worked as a deputy press secretary in Giuliani's second term and counted Bianca Jagger among his friends.

He wasn't in a committed relationship at the time of his death and several years ago had taken out restraining orders against an abusive ex-boyfriend, a former Miami-based TV producer, his sister said.

Several tenants of the building were outraged that most of the security cameras were broken. Building managers declined to comment. "I thought I was living in a safe building - but apparently not," said Amy Weis, 33. "I'm not going to sleep well tonight."

Barreto's family said he will be cremated and his ashes returned to his native Nicaragua next week.