July 19, 2000

Collar in Fatal Cop Crash

Motorcyclist is arrested in S.I. home

By RICHARD WEIR Daily News Staff Writer

olice charged a motorcycle-riding ex-con yesterday with leading a decorated Staten Island cop on a fatal high-speed chase — capping a day-long manhunt that included help from a biker gang.

An anonymous tip led cops yesterday morning to the Staten Island doorstep of Guido Tritto, a 44-year-old plumbing supply yard worker. He was charged in Monday's death of Officer John Kelly, police said.

Tritto, whose rap sheet dates to 1974, told police he fled the cop because he was afraid, said Chief Eugene Devlin, commanding officer of Patrol Borough Staten Island.

The quick arrest provided some solace to the family and friends of Kelly, a 31-year-old married father of two and one of four NYPD brothers.

"John Kelly was a real hero police officer who died in the line of duty, and we are very pleased that we have apprehended the subject who caused his death," Police Commissioner Howard Safir said last night.

Kelly, whose wife, Patricia Duffy, is also a cop, was killed Monday afternoon when the unmarked 1999 Chevrolet Lumina he was driving slammed into a telephone pole, ending a 1 1/2 mile chase. He became the second cop killed in the line of duty this year.

Tritto was charged with manslaughter, reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of an accident, criminal possession of stolen property and driving with a suspended license. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

Safir said Tritto was driving at more than 75 mph Monday afternoon on the westbound Staten Island Expressway when Kelly pulled him over near the approach to the Goethals Bridge.

The officer had entered the motorcycle's license plate into the computer terminal in his cruiser and discovered the tags were stolen.

"As Officer Kelly was getting out of his car, Mr. Tritto got back on his motorcycle and took off," exiting the highway, Safir said.

As the biker made a U-turn under the expressway, police said, Kelly lost control of his car and slammed into a telephone pole. He died 31 / 2 hours later at St. Vincent's Medical Center on Staten Island, surrounded by loved ones.

Sources said the tip that led to Tritto's arrest came from a caller who reported overhearing the suspect nervously discussing his role in the fatal crash.

Kelly's death sparked an outpouring of grief among his friends and family in the Police Department and even prompted members of a Staten Island biker gang to look for the motorcyclist on their own, a source said.

Safir said Tritto's rap sheet includes 15 arrests on offenses including grand larceny, menacing, reckless endangerment, possession of stolen property and unlicensed driving. In 1992, Tritto was sent to an Ulster County prison to serve two to six years for burglary. He absconded from a temporary release program later that year, was sent to Sing Sing and was paroled in 1993. His parole was revoked in 1994 for aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle — a crime with which he was also charged in 1997 and 1998.

With Michele McPhee and Alice McQuillan