Death of wife-killing former NYPD cop sets off battle over his insurance money

April 19--A bitter battle is brewing for insurance money months after the death of an ex-cop who murdered his ex-wife.

John Galtieri, 72, died in an upstate prison hospital in September. He was serving a life sentence for taking the life of his battered former wife in a January 2007 hail of bullets.

The onetime NYPD sergeant shot Jeanne Kane five times in a car as he seethed over a divorce settlement that gave the 58-year-old woman most of his police pension.

Kane's estate received Galtieri's pension and now it might get his $100,000 life insurance policy, as well.

But there's a question over whether the funds should go to the estate or to Galtieri's other ex-wife, Marilyn Scibetti.

About two years before his Staten Island parking lot ambush, Galtieri obtained the policy and put down Scibetti, then Marilyn Galtieri, as his sole beneficiary. Their divorce was finalized by a Florida judge two months after Staten Island jurors convicted Galtieri of murder.

American General Life Insurance Company says it's ready to pay on the policy but doesn't know who should get the money -- Kane's estate, headed by her daughter Patricia DeFranco, or Scibetti.

The insurer asked on April 9 in a lawsuit in Brooklyn federal court for a judge to make a decision in the compensation conundrum.

The insurance policy was a total surprise to DeFranco, according to her lawyer, Warren van den Houten.

"We're going to see if we can get it," van den Houten said. "We certainly don't want it going to Marilyn."

Scibetti, a 58-year-old Florida resident, couldn't be reached for comment.

Kane's estate won a $31.7 million wrongful death award against Galtieri in 2012. Two years later, Scibetti lost her bid for the pension. So far, the estate has collected more than $280,000 from Galtieri's pension, van den Houten said.

"We knew we were never going to collect the award," van den Houten said. Still, he added, "We're going to take everything we could from the guy for murdering Jeannie."

Galtieri's shots were so loud that a highway patrolman in an unmarked car at the parking lot testified he thought he was the target. The patrolman found Kane slumped in the driver's seat, shot in the head.

Earlier that same day, Galtieri filed court papers trying to block the pension payout to his wife of 27 years.

It was a tragic end for a woman with an early star turn. Kane was one of three sisters who performed as The Kane Triplets during the 1960s. They even made it to "The Ed Sullivan Show."

The killer's death certificate says the cause is under investigation, according to van den Houten. He noted when prison officials informed DeFranco about her father's death, they said it wasn't due to violence.

DeFranco, 37, declined an interview request. She's putting the estate's money toward her two young kids, van den Houten said.

"She's doing as well as can be expected," van der Houten said. "She's been through a terrible trauma and it still shows on her."

___

(c)2018 New York Daily News

Visit New York Daily News at www.nydailynews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.