Cop: When arrested, Battisti said 'I threw away my life'

Shortly after he was arrested on charges of paying a handyman to kill his estranged ex-wife, Anthony Battisti sat in the back of a Nassau County police vehicle and said, "I threw away my life," the lead detective testified in Battisti's attempted-murder trial Wednesday.

Battisti, 43, of Franklin Square, a New York City police officer, is accused of promising to pay handyman Timothy Gersbeck, 39, of Levittown, $5,000 to kill his ex-wife, Patricia.

Before the January 2009 attempt, Battisti told Gersbeck, "I would like to get rid of her so I wouldn't have [child support] payments," according to Gersbeck's police statement.

Gersbeck, who is cooperating and pleaded guilty, was arrested after he tried to stab her with a sharpened screwdriver outside her Franklin Square home, prosecutors say. Patricia Battisti's boyfriend and 19-year-old son, who were at the house, caught Gersbeck, who only scratched her.

In testimony, Nassau Det. Jason Gaertner read aloud Gersbeck's police statement, which said Battisti was paying $3,000 in monthly child support and a court ruling before the attack ordered him to pay $4,000 to $5,000 for medical expenses.

Gersbeck, who also is divorced, said in the statement that Battisti "knew that I was behind on my child support and was desperate for money," adding that Battisti had gotten traffic tickets dismissed for him and used that as "leverage."

"He would call me and say something like, 'The car is in the shop,' and that would mean that his ex-wife was home," Gersbeck's statement said. "At first, Tony told me he didn't want the kids around when it happened, but he was getting so upset that he eventually told me that he didn't care if the kids were around."

Gaertner testified that he and other officers arrested Battisti on Sept. 4, 2009, in Brooklyn. Gaertner was taking him to the Fifth Precinct when he heard Battisti say, "I threw away 17 1/2 and half years." Battisti, who is suspended, had been on the NYPD for that length of time.

Gaertner said he then advised Battisti to stop talking because he knew he had a lawyer.

During cross-examination by Battisti's lawyer, Stephen Scaring of Garden City, Gaertner confirmed that two police cars from NYPD's internal affairs followed Gaertner's vehicle the day of his arrest back to Nassau County, and Battisti repeatedly looked back at the cars.

Scaring asked him if Battisti's actual statement was "After 17 1/2 years, they treat me like this." Gaertner replied, "No, that's not correct."Gersbeck, who is expected to testify, pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder and will be sentenced to at least 8 years in prison, prosecutors say. Battisti is charged with first-degree attempted murder and second-degree conspiracy. If convicted, Battisti could face life in prison. He is free on $500,000 bail.