Story By: Sara Zhivkova, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
The boyfriend of a New York sex worker suspected of killing three men – including a famous chef who died in a seedy hotel – with a date rape drug has been arrested.
The body of famous Cipriani Dolci chef Andrea Zamperoni was found in a rubbish bin that had been dragged inside a hotel room in the Queens area of New York in 2019.
Prostitute Angelina Barini, 42, was arrested on suspicion of giving him drugs that then killed him, and now the police have also arrested her former boyfriend Leslie Lescano, 44.
Lescano is believed to have been hiding in the bathroom when Barini gave the chef the drugs and who helped to rob him afterwards.
Lescano, who is also known as Kenny Ween, faces charges of distributing a controlled substance, namely fentanyl, and possession with intent to distribute it which could see him jailed for 20 years.
His former girlfriend is being investigated for killing the chef and causing the death of two other men she also allegedly drugged in 2019.
The police believe the woman arranged to meet Zamperoni in the rundown Kamway Lodge motel in Queens with the intention of giving him the date rape drug to rob him.
After he passed out, they stole his bank card and used it to go on a spending spree and then dumped the body in a garbage bin upside down which they had dragged in from outside the motel, according to local media.
It is suspected that they planned to dispose of the body and had borrowed a trolley, a saw, and other utensils but were caught before they could put the plan into action.
The crime was discovered by cops investigating a missing person report and turned up at the motel.
They noticed a strong odour and forced entry into the room where the dead chef was found.
A bottle with a purple liquid that was later found to be the date rape drug was also found in the room.
The two other men she is alleged to have drugged involve a death at the Airway Inn at LaGuardia Airport on 4 July and another man at the Crown Motor Inn in Woodside on July 11, 2019.
Police said they have obtained CCTV images that confirm she was present during both incidents.
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