Ex-butcher guilty of killing, dismembering N.Y. boss

[April 09, 2009]  NEW YORK (AP) -- A former butcher was convicted Wednesday of murdering and dismembering his boss, then bagging the body parts and scattering them on street corners for collection.

Victor Gonzalez, 46, was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of Wilfredo Pinto Jr. on May 9, 2006.

The men worked together as roofers at two different companies, and Pinto had served as foreman on one job. They were also socially linked: Pinto was dating a woman who rented one of the bedrooms in her Bronx apartment to Gonzalez. Prosecutors argued that Pinto and Gonzalez had a tenuous relationship, and the murder occurred after a heated argument at the third-floor apartment where they had been partying.

Gonzalez, who worked as a butcher in Puerto Rico before moving to New York, bludgeoned Pinto to death with a hammer and then dismembered the body. He stuffed the body parts in five plastic garbage bags.

Two days after the slaying, the woman reported that she had discovered her friend's body in bags outside her apartment. A neighbor also reported finding body parts in a bag on the street. Police officers spotted a trail of blood leading to the apartment, where they found Gonzalez and took him into custody.

Pintos' bagged torso was dumped in front of the building. Police found the other bags -- one with a head, one with lower legs and an arm, one with the other arm and a thigh, and one with the second thigh -- at various locations within walking distance.

A saw and knives were used to cut up the body, police said at the time.

Gonzalez argued he had acted in self-defense and that Pinto had bullied, mistreated and disrespected him. He faces up to life in prison.

His attorneys said they would appeal. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

[Associated Press; By COLLEEN LONG]

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