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Authors: Michael W. Sheetz
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left behind few tangible clues.
The true irony of the search of the Joe’s Steakhouse cornfield lies in the fact that, as Sergeant Tom Tridico and Rich Dickey combed the frozen earth of the field in search of a link to Peter Levato’s killer, Michael Travaglia and John Lesko lay passed out in the warmth of their rented beds at Thatcher’s Motel. Slumbering in their drug-clouded, dreamless sleep, Peter Levato’s killers were less than one mile from the police dragnet. The first meeting between police and the murderous duo was not to be on that brisk December day. For that, Tridico would have to wait four more days.
As the first real day of progress in the Peter Levato murder investigation ended, members of Pennsylvania State Police’s Kiski Valley Barracks were on the cusp of a discovery for which they were not prepared. Tom Tridico in particular left his office at the end of his tour comfortably knowing that he and his men were working a random, or at least uncomplicated, murder. The facts that had emerged suggested to these trained investigators that Peter Levato had been killed as part of a robbery.
In homicide parlance, detectives call it presentation—the body position, scene condition and circumstances of the scene. In Peter Levato’s case, everything pointed to a robbery and murder; a scenario that, between them, they had seen dozens of times. Nonetheless, Peter Levato’s frozen corpse, now disemboweled, embalmed and en route to his final earthen rest, had brought forth key clues that would eventually resonate throughout the barracks like a thunderclap.
It is fitting that the final day of the decade that was the ’70s would bring forth the important clues that would eventually signal the final days of Michael Travaglia and John Lesko’s rampage. Although New Year’s Eve 1979 began no different from the 363 days that had preceded it, it would end quite differently, for Michael and John and for the men who were doggedly pursuing them.
Early on this last Monday in December, Sergeant Tridico assembled his men again—among them Trooper Rich Dickey and George Boyerinas—and conducted his standard briefing and status review.
In a homicide investigation, valuable clues to the identity of the killer often come from what detectives refer to as the victimology—the tiny minutiae that make up who we are. Victimology includes such mundane details as where we shop, with whom we associate and what sort of lifestyle we lead. The answer to questions such as “Do we engage in drug use?” or “Are we a church deacon?” will point to two very different lifestyles. These lifestyle clues can lead to many theories about what led to our death.
Gathering information about who Peter Levato was topped Tom Tridico’s list of things to accomplish before the New Year dawned. In pursuit of this vital information, Tridico assigned Dickey and Boyerinas the rather boring job of conducting a background check. While Hahn and Boyerinas’s original neighborhood canvass had revealed what little neighbors actually knew about the man at 3120 Mount Hope Road, they needed many more details if they hoped to crack this case—details such as his employment record.
Peter used to work for Universal Security as a guard. According to the chief of the Bigelow Apartments Security force, he had worked for them up until the early part of December. After Universal fired Peter, the Cauley Detective Agency on Penn Avenue hired him, sometime around December 14, but had not scheduled him to report for his first shift until Friday, December 28, at 8:00 p.m. He never showed up for work. No one from Cauley had heard from Peter Levato since.
Peter had few close acquaintances, and those whom investigators did find began to paint a picture of a man who led a life of relative solitude. He was briefly married to Mary Levato. They had no children, and they had been separated for some time on the day he disappeared. She hadn’t heard from him either.
Peter
The true irony of the search of the Joe’s Steakhouse cornfield lies in the fact that, as Sergeant Tom Tridico and Rich Dickey combed the frozen earth of the field in search of a link to Peter Levato’s killer, Michael Travaglia and John Lesko lay passed out in the warmth of their rented beds at Thatcher’s Motel. Slumbering in their drug-clouded, dreamless sleep, Peter Levato’s killers were less than one mile from the police dragnet. The first meeting between police and the murderous duo was not to be on that brisk December day. For that, Tridico would have to wait four more days.
As the first real day of progress in the Peter Levato murder investigation ended, members of Pennsylvania State Police’s Kiski Valley Barracks were on the cusp of a discovery for which they were not prepared. Tom Tridico in particular left his office at the end of his tour comfortably knowing that he and his men were working a random, or at least uncomplicated, murder. The facts that had emerged suggested to these trained investigators that Peter Levato had been killed as part of a robbery.
In homicide parlance, detectives call it presentation—the body position, scene condition and circumstances of the scene. In Peter Levato’s case, everything pointed to a robbery and murder; a scenario that, between them, they had seen dozens of times. Nonetheless, Peter Levato’s frozen corpse, now disemboweled, embalmed and en route to his final earthen rest, had brought forth key clues that would eventually resonate throughout the barracks like a thunderclap.
It is fitting that the final day of the decade that was the ’70s would bring forth the important clues that would eventually signal the final days of Michael Travaglia and John Lesko’s rampage. Although New Year’s Eve 1979 began no different from the 363 days that had preceded it, it would end quite differently, for Michael and John and for the men who were doggedly pursuing them.
Early on this last Monday in December, Sergeant Tridico assembled his men again—among them Trooper Rich Dickey and George Boyerinas—and conducted his standard briefing and status review.
In a homicide investigation, valuable clues to the identity of the killer often come from what detectives refer to as the victimology—the tiny minutiae that make up who we are. Victimology includes such mundane details as where we shop, with whom we associate and what sort of lifestyle we lead. The answer to questions such as “Do we engage in drug use?” or “Are we a church deacon?” will point to two very different lifestyles. These lifestyle clues can lead to many theories about what led to our death.
Gathering information about who Peter Levato was topped Tom Tridico’s list of things to accomplish before the New Year dawned. In pursuit of this vital information, Tridico assigned Dickey and Boyerinas the rather boring job of conducting a background check. While Hahn and Boyerinas’s original neighborhood canvass had revealed what little neighbors actually knew about the man at 3120 Mount Hope Road, they needed many more details if they hoped to crack this case—details such as his employment record.
Peter used to work for Universal Security as a guard. According to the chief of the Bigelow Apartments Security force, he had worked for them up until the early part of December. After Universal fired Peter, the Cauley Detective Agency on Penn Avenue hired him, sometime around December 14, but had not scheduled him to report for his first shift until Friday, December 28, at 8:00 p.m. He never showed up for work. No one from Cauley had heard from Peter Levato since.
Peter had few close acquaintances, and those whom investigators did find began to paint a picture of a man who led a life of relative solitude. He was briefly married to Mary Levato. They had no children, and they had been separated for some time on the day he disappeared. She hadn’t heard from him either.
Peter
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