Lawyer: Accused cop was fighting for son's custody

In the midst of Anthony Battisti's custody battle for his 13-year-old son, ex-wife Patricia Battisti had said she would fight the teenager's wish to live with his father, Anthony Battisti's divorce lawyer testified Thursday.

That custody battle and arguments over child support turned deadly, prosecutors say, when Anthony Battisti, 43, of Franklin Square, hired handyman Timothy Gersbeck, 39, of Levittown, to kill Patricia Battisti.

Lawyers for Anthony Battisti, a New York City police officer on trial for attempted murder and conspiracy, began building their case yesterday afternoon in Nassau County Court in Mineola. They are contending Gersbeck acted on his own and is now trying to shift blame to Anthony Battisti.

Under questioning by defense lawyer Stephen Scaring of Garden City, divorce lawyer Marc Ialenti of Mineola testified that in a Family Court custody conference in early January 2009, the 13-year-old boy said he wanted to live with his father, who is now suspended. "Mrs. Battisti said she wasn't going to give consent," Ialenti said.

Despite the teenager's wishes, Assistant District Attorney Carolyn Kelly pointed out a Family Court probation report dated Jan. 13, 2009, said there was "no compelling reason to change custody" away from Patricia Battisti.

The prosecution rested its case after testimony from an NYPD internal affairs officer, who testified about the length of Battisti's career, and from Det. Sgt. Kenneth Strigaro, deputy commanding officer of the Nassau police electronics squad.

Strigaro led the jury through records of cell phone calls between Gersbeck and Anthony Battisti. He also explained a map of the movement of Battisti's phone from Long Island to Westchester on Jan. 23, 2009, the day that Gersbeck attacked Patricia Battisti with a sharpened screwdriver outside her Franklin Square home.

Gersbeck wounded her and was caught by her then-boyfriend and her son, who had been inside the house.

Defense lawyer Matthew Russenden asked Strigaro about the pattern of calls between the two men between September 2008 and January 2009.

Gersbeck pleaded guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors. Testimony resumes Monday.