Bronx man arrested for murder of Queens lawyer
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Nando Perez was arrested for allegedly murdering attorney Charles Zolot, pictured here, on Aug. 4, 2021. Photo via Nolo
By Jacob Kaye
A Bronx man was arrested and charged Monday in the murder of a Briarwood attorney who was found dead in his Jackson Heights office last week, police announced.
Nando Perez, 64, was cuffed on Aug. 9, around 8 a.m., within the confines of the 115th Precinct and charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the NYPD.
Perez allegedly killed Charles Zolot, a 65-year-old family law attorney, on Wednesday, Aug. 4, around 4:30 p.m., according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Perez, a former client, made his way up to the attorney’s second floor office on 82nd Avenue and 37th Street and stabbed him multiple times before leaving the building, the charges state.
Police found Zolot dead the following morning after a member of the building’s cleaning crew made a call to law enforcement, according to the NYPD.
“Personally and professionally, I'm saddened by what happened,” said Frank Bruno, the president of the Queens County Bar Association.
Though Bruno didn’t know Zolot well, the two had met at an attorneys event once and he found the attorney to be nothing but nice.
“When I became president of the Queens Columbian Lawyers Association, he called and asked to sit with me at the table with my wife and mother-in-law; he had to entertain her and she had to entertain him,” Bruno said. “He was very nice and gracious.”
The Queens County Bar Association is currently exploring ways to honor Zolot’s life, including through the creation of a scholarship program named after the attorney.
“This is a brutal crime that has stunned our community,” Katz said. “The defendant is accused of confronting the victim in his law office, stabbing him repeatedly and then leaving him to die.”
Queens Criminal Court Judge Jeffrey Gershuny ordered Perez to return to court on Aug. 13.
If convicted, he faces up to 25 years-to-life in prison.
