Ronkonkoma man pleads guilty to manslaughter in deaths of childhood friend and second man

A Ronkonkoma man pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter and other charges related to the deaths of his childhood friend and another man in April 2022, officials said.

Brian Cordovano, 50, of Ronkonkoma, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges related to the deaths of Ian Saalfield, 45, of Lake Grove, and Robert Julian, 59, of Selden, 2½ years ago, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney announced.

Cordovano killed the two men "in a selfish and inexplicable act of violence," Tierney said in a news release.

"I hope that this plea provides a measure of comfort to the victims’ families and friends as they continue to mourn these unnecessary and tragic losses," Tierney added. "With this conviction, the victims' families will be spared the further pain and anxiety of a trial, while ensuring that the community is protected from any further crimes by this defendant."

On April 26, 2022, Saalfield was reported missing by his wife, who said she last saw her husband the previous day when he left his home in his white 2015 Lexus with Cordovano, his childhood friend, according to the district attorney’s office.

The following week, on May 2, 2022, law enforcement found Saalfield’s Lexus abandoned in a Holtsville parking lot, officials said. That same day, police also responded to a call from a Ronkonkoma motel where Cordovano was suffering from an overdose.

The Suffolk County Police Department linked a silver 2004 Toyota Corolla in the motel parking lot to Cordovano while he was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital, the district attorney said. The car was registered to Julian, and police officers went to his home address.

There, police discovered the bodies of Saalfield and Julian, who had died from gunshot wounds to their heads. Authorities said investigators determined that Cordovano killed the two on April 25, 2022, the night Saalfield was last seen by his wife.

On Tuesday Cordovano pleaded guilty before Suffolk County Court Judge Stephen L. Braslow at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead to two counts of first-degree manslaughter, three counts of first-degree robbery and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, all violent felonies.

Christopher Gioe, the Hauppauge-based defense attorney representing Cordovano, was not immediately available for comment Tuesday evening.

Cordovano is due back in court for sentencing on Nov. 20. According to the district attorney's office, he faces an agreed-upon sentence of 30 years in prison.