A Long Island man who played a nefarious role in an infamous sex abuse crime died yesterday after collapsing in a Suffolk jail, apparently the victim of a heart attack, according to law enforcement officials and his attorney.
Sal Inghilleri, who was convicted more than a decade ago of sexually abusing 9-year-old Katie Beers, was scheduled for a checkup yesterday morning, but initially refused to go, said Chief Michael Sharkey of the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department.
Inghilleri had diabetes, heart disease and other health problems, said his attorney, Thomas Kenniff of Mineola.
Inghilleri, 55, who at times went to court in a wheelchair, later agreed to go to the medical facility, but then refused to be seen. He returned to the housing area and collapsed just before 9 a.m., Sharkey said.
Correction officers and an EMS team tried to revive him and an ambulance took him to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead, where he was pronounced dead at 9:46 a.m.
