Former client indicted for murder of Jackson Heights lawyer

A man was indicted for allegedly murdering a Queens lawyer, pictured, last month. Photo via Nolo

By Rachel Vick

A Bronx man allegedly responsible for the August stabbing of a Queens attorney was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Friday.

Nando Perez, 64, was a former client of 65-year-old Charles Zolot, who was found dead in his Jackson Heights office with approximately 20 stab wounds last month.

“This was a brutal killing that stunned the community. The victim was found dead inside his Jackson Heights office with multiple stab wounds and a former client is accused of settling a disagreement with violence.”

Sometime in the late afternoon of Aug. 4, Perez allegedly confronted Zolot on the second floor conference room of his office on 82nd Avenue near 37th Street, where he attacked the lawyer before fleeing the scene.

Zolot was found dead the next morning after a member of the building’s cleaning staff called law enforcement, according to the NYPD.

Perez was charged with murder in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree. He pleaded not guilty.

Perez’s attorney said that she was unhappy with the rate at which the case is proceeding.

“He has now been in custody for 25 days,” his lawyer Vivian R. Cedeno told the Eagle. “We hope that Mr. Perez will receive a fair trial.”

“Unfortunately, the Queens DA's Office has failed to provide any discovery or evidence in support of the charges filed to date,” she added.

Justice Ushir Pandit-Durant ordered Perez be held without bail. He faces 25 years to life in prison and returns to court on Oct. 12.

“Personally and professionally, I'm saddened by what happened,” Frank Bruno, the president of the Queens County Bar Association, told the Eagle last month.

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 friendly.

“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.”