Protégé, roommate of heroin-addicted Queens lawyer bludgeons the attorney with hammer in Astoria apartment: cops
Quentin Capobianco, 18, allegedly beat Jesse Smith, 29, to death over an argument about money and living arrangements in their luxury Astoria, Queens apartment on Monday.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Tuesday, January 13, 2015, 8:22 AM
Updated: Tuesday, January 13, 2015, 4:13 PM
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Jesse Smith (pictured) was beaten with a hammer in his Astoria home after fighitng with his roommate over money, according to police sources. The 29-year-old died at Elmhurst General Hospital after the incident.
The 18-year-old protégé of a heroin-addicted Queens attorney was charged Tuesday with bludgeoning the lawyer to death with a hammer.
Jesse Smith, 29, was beaten to death Monday during a fight over money and living arrangements with Quentin Copobianco at the luxury Astoria apartment they shared, police said.
On his LinkedIn page, Copobianco wrote that he was working for Smith as a paralegal while studying economics at St. John’s University.
He was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon, the hammer.
Neighbors said Smith appeared to be a mentor to Copobianco, who emulated the lawyer’s tastes for expensive suits.
“They were both really fancy, wearing expensive clothes,” said Sylvia Barron, 46, who works at Astoria Cleaners, where Smith and Copobianco set up a joint account in December.
“Jesse talked directly, Quentin was kind of quiet. My god, that’s terrible,” said Barron when told of Monday’s murder.
A police source told the Daily News that Smith’s struggle with heroin was uncovered during the investigation.
But Smith’s father, Richard, denied his son had a drug habit when reached by phone on Tuesday.
“That information, it’s not true! It’s not like I’m a naïve parent,” said the father before abruptly hanging up on a Daily News reporter.
Smith worked as a practicing lawyer for the Povman Law Firm. His profile on the firm’s website, which was taken down Tuesday, said he grew up on Long Island, earned a psychology degree from the University of Vermont and a law degree at Hofstra University School of Law.
At Povman, Smith mostly tackled personal injury cases, including complex medical malpractice suits.
Copobianco also grew up on Long Island and graduated last year from North Shore High School in Glen Head. He began working for Smith as a paralegal in October, claiming on his LinkedIn page that his job included “extensive research and advice on current cases.”
Cops were called to the Exo Apartment building on 21st St. at 3:30 p.m. Monday, finding Smith bludgeoned in the head and unresponsive. He was taken to Elmhurst General Hospital, where he died.
Copobianco was taken into custody at the apartment, where police recovered the hammer used in the killing and a shotgun.
Tony Wang, 31, owner of City Sliquors, a liquor store near the Exo Apartment building, said Smith told him that he recently started working for himself.
“He said he used to work for other people but now he worked for himself,” Wang said. “He said he was involved in Bitcoins.”
Wang said that Smith used to frequent his store to buy Moët champagne, but stopped coming in as he apparently fell on tough times financially.
“When he first came in everything seemed good, but then later he came in and said business was not going well,” Wang said. “One day I saw him standing outside smoking a cigarette, just staring up at the sky. He just didn't look right.”
