BY: Alison Gendar, Henrick Karoliszyn and Rich Schapiro DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Police are hunting for the cousin of ex-Jets linebacker Jonathan Vilma in connection with the slayings of two African immigrants believed to have been killed in retaliation for running a fake money swindle, police said Tuesday.
Investigators believe that Vilma's cousin, who allegedly used a remote to allow himself inside the NFL star's gated community in Woodbury, L.I., Thursday, may be linked to the murders, police sources said.
"They want to talk to him," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
Vilma's unoccupied home was found splattered with blood and bleach and littered with black paper - the material, investigators say, used by Sekou Sakor, 31, and Ansu Keita, 32, in an elaborate fraud known as the "Black Money Scam."
In the scheme, which originated in western Africa, victims are told black construction paper is actually money painted black that can only be cleaned with a special chemical.
"It may have been discovered that in fact people were being defrauded, and that they were killed in retaliation for this," Kelly said.
Kelly added that Vilma, 26, who moved out of the condo in 2007 and now plays for the New Orleans Saints, is not believed to be connected to the scam or its fatal end.
Still, detectives plan to interview Vilma to determine "how his cousin got access," Kelly said.
Michael Tein, Vilma's lawyer, said his client has already spoken to cops and will "continue to completely cooperate to help the police solve this crime."
"No one had permission to stay in or use that condo," Tein said. "It was all without Jonathan's permission or knowledge."
Tein declined to comment on the nature of the relationship between Vilma and his cousin.
The bodies of Sakor and Keita were dumped in Brooklyn and Queens. They each had been shot once in the head, execution-style, cops said.
Cops believe Sakor and Keita may have been lured to Vilma's $900,000 pad before they were slain.
Cop sources said that only Vilma's cousin, sister and a real estate agent had access to his condo.
Police found black paper and bleach in the Bronx apartment the two Liberian immigrants shared. Investigators also recovered a host of chemicals and Vitamin C, which is used in the scam. Abe Gutman, who sits on Eagle Chase's condo board, said the violence has shaken residents of the luxury compound. "It's a very quiet community," Gutman said. "I would never expect this type of thing to happen in our community. It's just an incredible thing."
Police are hunting for the cousin of ex-Jets linebacker Jonathan Vilma in connection with the slayings of two African immigrants believed to have been killed in retaliation for running a fake money swindle, police said Tuesday.
Investigators believe that Vilma's cousin, who allegedly used a remote to allow himself inside the NFL star's gated community in Woodbury, L.I., Thursday, may be linked to the murders, police sources said.
"They want to talk to him," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
Vilma's unoccupied home was found splattered with blood and bleach and littered with black paper - the material, investigators say, used by Sekou Sakor, 31, and Ansu Keita, 32, in an elaborate fraud known as the "Black Money Scam."
In the scheme, which originated in western Africa, victims are told black construction paper is actually money painted black that can only be cleaned with a special chemical.
"It may have been discovered that in fact people were being defrauded, and that they were killed in retaliation for this," Kelly said.
Kelly added that Vilma, 26, who moved out of the condo in 2007 and now plays for the New Orleans Saints, is not believed to be connected to the scam or its fatal end.
Still, detectives plan to interview Vilma to determine "how his cousin got access," Kelly said.
Michael Tein, Vilma's lawyer, said his client has already spoken to cops and will "continue to completely cooperate to help the police solve this crime."
"No one had permission to stay in or use that condo," Tein said. "It was all without Jonathan's permission or knowledge."
Tein declined to comment on the nature of the relationship between Vilma and his cousin.
The bodies of Sakor and Keita were dumped in Brooklyn and Queens. They each had been shot once in the head, execution-style, cops said.
Cops believe Sakor and Keita may have been lured to Vilma's $900,000 pad before they were slain.
Cop sources said that only Vilma's cousin, sister and a real estate agent had access to his condo.
Police found black paper and bleach in the Bronx apartment the two Liberian immigrants shared. Investigators also recovered a host of chemicals and Vitamin C, which is used in the scam. Abe Gutman, who sits on Eagle Chase's condo board, said the violence has shaken residents of the luxury compound. "It's a very quiet community," Gutman said. "I would never expect this type of thing to happen in our community. It's just an incredible thing."
