by Et in Arcadia ego » Thu Aug 24, 2006 2:17 pm
<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/24/nyregion/24strangle.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=nyregion&adxnnlx=1156417815-dxRR13pCZRAI/hvFVwl3og&oref=slogin">www.nytimes.com/2006/08/2...ref=slogin</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br>A former deputy press secretary to Rudolph W. Giuliani was found strangled in his Greenwich Village apartment Monday night, and investigators believe that he may have known his killer, the police said yesterday.<br><br>Martin Barreto, 48, was a deputy press secretary to Mayor Giuliani.<br><br>The victim, Martin Barreto, 48, a partner in a Manhattan-based public relations firm, was found naked in his bedroom when officers entered his apartment on East 10th Street at University Place.<br><br>A friend of Mr. Barreto’s, unable to reach him by phone, had become alarmed and had gone to his building to ask the superintendent to let him in the apartment. The police were called about 9:20 p.m., and the door was opened after they arrived.<br><br>There was no sign of forced entry, struggle or disarray in the apartment, which is owned by Mr. Barreto’s cousin and the cousin’s wife, the police said. The apartment door was locked and no keys were missing, they said.<br><br>There were no arrests as the investigation continued last evening, and detectives were still trying to determine a motive. The police said that no robbery appeared to have occurred.<br><br>The police said the building’s doorman told investigators that he saw Mr. Barreto sometime after midnight on Monday morning. Shortly thereafter, the police said, the doorman let one or maybe two men into the building to visit Mr. Barreto, who had left instructions that he was expecting company.<br><br>Investigators said they had not yet interviewed the visitors.<br><br>Mr. Barreto’s body was found wedged between his bed and the wall, the police said. They said Mr. Barreto’s larynx had been crushed, an indication that he may have been strangled from behind.<br><br>The murder dismayed neighbors, unaccustomed to violent crime in the area, and shocked many who knew Mr. Barreto in media circles and the New York City government. Mr. Barreto, originally from Nicaragua, began his career at CBS News, directed public relations for the I.B.M. Corporation in Latin America and served on the board of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.<br><br>Mr. Barreto worked at City Hall in the mid-1990’s, said a former Giuliani administration spokeswoman.<br><br>In a message released by a representative, Mr. Giuliani expressed his sympathy and his prayers “for the family and friends of Martin during this difficult time.”<br><br>Mr. Barreto’s sister Carolina Meyer, who lives in El Dorado Hills, Calif., said that she last spoke with him Friday evening, and that he gave no indication that anything was wrong. His professional life seemed to be on the upswing.<br><br>“He had some new business that had contracted him for work that he was excited about,” she said. “I even thought, ‘He’s on a roll.’ ”<br><br>During that conversation, she said, Mr. Barreto also said he was thinking of buying another condominium in the South Beach section of Miami, having learned that the value of a property he already owns there had soared.<br><br>As for the belief that his assailant may have been someone he knew, Ms. Meyer said she did not think that Mr. Barreto had been in a romantic relationship recently. About three years ago, he ended a relationship with a man and sought restraining orders against him after the man became violent, Ms. Meyer said.<br><br>Roxanna Brightwell, who ran the public relations firm Barreto & Brightwell with him, said the circumstances surrounding the killing surprised her.<br><br>“He was always a very careful, cautious person,” she said. “He was a loyal, honest man with a lot of integrity; that’s why he was my partner, that’s why I trusted him.”<br><br><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>Al Baker, Kate Hammer and Colin Moynihan contributed reporting for this article.</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> <p>____________________<br>Some are born to sweet delight, some are born to endless night.</p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=etinarcadiaego@rigorousintuition>et in Arcadia ego</A> <IMG HEIGHT=10 WIDTH=10 SRC="http://www.sickle666.com/images/Arcadia.jpg" BORDER=0> at: 8/24/06 12:18 pm<br></i>
