Millionaire 'tortured with stun gun befire murder'

An electrician who moved to Britain from America with the widow of a murdered millionaire bought several stun guns like those used to torture the wealthy investment banker before he was killed, a court heard.

Daniel Pelosi (aged 40) was held without bail yesterday after pleading not guilty to the murder of Ted Ammon.

Pelosi married Mr Ammon’s widow, Generosa, after her husband was found bludgeoned to death at his mansion in East Hampton, the summer resort of wealthy New Yorkers.

Pelosi and Mrs Ammon moved to an estate in Cranleigh, Surrey, after they married, but they later separated. Mrs Ammon died of cancer last year.

In her will, Mrs Ammon left British nanny Kathryn Ann Mayne €962,200 and the lifetime use of a seaside mansion.

Ms Mayne was also given custody of the couple’s two children.

After months of media speculation, followed by a grand jury probe in New York, Pelosi was indicted on Monday over the killing of Mr Ammon.

In new evidence yesterday, it emerged that 52-year-old Mr Ammon was struck 30 times on the head and tortured with a stun gun.

Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Janet Albertson told the Supreme Court in Riverhead, Long Island: “Pelosi made statements since the murder that directly implicate himself and others.”

She added: “He purchased a number of stun guns just prior to the death.”

It was suggested that there may be more arrests in the case.

Prosecutors did not say whether they thought Pelosi, from Long Island, personally beat or stunned 6ft 3in Mr Ammon.

According to a post-mortem examination Mr Ammon, a former general partner at the investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, was hit with a blunt object, suffering a punctured lung and fractures to his hand and ribs.

Pelosi had helped oversee the installation of a security and surveillance system at the millionaire’s estate.

Ms Albertson alleged Pelosi used a laptop computer to access the video surveillance system inside the home at 2am for 21 minutes.

“We believe on the night of the murder, he could see into the house,” she said.

Supreme Court Justice Robert Doyle remanded Pelosi in custody without bail.

Pelosi did not speak at the hearing, but his lawyer, Gerald Shargel, entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf.

Pelosi faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

Mr and Mrs Ammon were just days away from finalising a bitter divorce when he was killed in October 2001 in his Long Island mansion.

Mr Ammon’s estate was reportedly worth more than €82.7m.

After they were wed, Pelosi and Mrs Ammon and her two children moved to Surrey to seek privacy.

But they returned to the US when she was diagnosed with cancer.

They split and she died in the summer of last year, aged 46. Pelosi received a reported €1.7m but nothing in her will.

Pelosi’s lawyers are challenging the validity of the will in court.