A former Massachusetts attorney convicted in the 2015 gruesome robbery and murder of a Marshfield man received his sentence on Wednesday.
It was a raw and emotional end to a more than four-year-long quest for justice Wednesday in Plymouth Superior Court in the murder of 45-year-old Robert McKenna.
Former Quincy attorney Michael Moscaritolo was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole for his role in the brutal slaying of McKenna.
"Robert was a great person, the kindest person in the world, and this person was a vicious ice-cold killer," McKenna's friend the victim’s friend Kevin Costello said in an impact statement. "The scene that you left for me to find was so gruesome – no one should have seen that, especially his family."
Wednesday was a retrial for Moscaritolo after a jury found him guilty of burglary, unarmed robbery, and larceny but failed to reach a verdict on the murder charge last year.
"Mr. Moscaritolo is a vile, despicable criminal, and for 20 years he's been a thorn in our side, and he's been weaseling his way out of everything but not today, the jury got it right," Marshfield Police Chief Phillip Tavares said.
Two accomplices, Mark O'Brien and James Ferguson were also convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison for breaking into McKenna's Marshfield home in September 2015 to steal his collection of guns, home-grown marijuana and African art, prosecutors said.
Investigators said McKenna died after the three men beat him over the head with a frying pan and pushed him through a window, severing an artery in his arm.
"I don't know if there's justice, but happy that they're off the streets and will not be able to do this to anyone else," McKenna's sister Elizabeth Ainslie said.
Moscaritolo's sentence has an automatic appeal but Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz said his office is confident they will fight that and win.
"I think we're all a little bit safer tonight with him and his cronies in jail for the rest of their lives," Cruz said.
