(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Brian Cordovano, 50, of Ronkonkoma, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing two men – Ian Saalfield, 45, of Lake Grove, and Robert Julian, 59, of Selden, in April 2022.
“Any justice obtained in this case does not allow Mr. Saalfield and Mr. Julian to see their families again, nor allow their families to say goodbye,” said District Attorney Tierney. “Justice does, however, allow us to keep a violent individual like this defendant from harming others for a long time. Today, we hope that this sentence brings some form of closure to the victims’ families and loved ones.”
On April 26, 2022, Saalfield was reported missing by his wife. She advised police that she last saw her husband the day before with Cordovano, his childhood friend. Saalfield’s wife saw her husband leave their home with Cordovano at approximately 8:00 p.m., when he drove off in Saalfield’s white 2015 Lexus. Saalfield never returned home. A few days later, on May 2, 2022, law enforcement found Saalfield’s Lexus abandoned in a parking lot in Holtsville. On that same day, police responded to a call from a Ronkonkoma motel where Cordovano was suffering from an overdose.
While Cordovano was being transported to Stony Brook University Hospital, the Suffolk County Police Department was able to link a silver 2004 Toyota Corolla left in the motel parking lot to Cordovano. A registration check revealed that the car belonged to Robert Julian. Police responded to Julian’s home and found the bodies of Saalfield and Julian inside, each dead due to gunshot wounds to the head. Investigators later determined that Cordovano killed the two on April 25, 2022.
On October 9, 2024, Cordovano pleaded guilty before County Court Judge Stephen L. Braslow, to:
- Two counts of Manslaughter in the First Degree, Class B violent felonies;
- Three counts of Robbery in the First Degree, Class B violent felonies; and
- Two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, Class C violent felonies.
On November 20, 2024, Judge Braslow sentenced Cordovano to 30 years in prison. He was represented by Christopher Gioe, Esq.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Frank Schroeder of the Homicide Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Detective Michael Repperger of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Homicide Squad.
