Aug. 27 (UPI) — New York police arrested a woman on drug charges in connection to the deaths of three people, including a missing Manhattan chef whose body was found last week in a Queens motel, the Justice Department said Monday.
Angelina Barini, 41, appeared before a federal magistrate judge on Monday for charges of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute one or more substances containing fentanyl. She was ordered to be held without bail.
Police arrested Barini, who told investigators that she worked as a prostitute, following an investigation into overdose deaths at motels that brought them to the motel room where the body of 33-year-old Andrea Zamperoni, a head chef at the renowned Manhattan restaurant, Cipriani Dolci, was discovered.
Zamperoni was found dead last Wednesday wrapped in linens and stuffed in a garbage can in a Queens motel room near his Elmhurst residence, according to the complaint.
He is believed to be “John Doe 3” in court documents related to Barini’s case as details match those connected to his death, including the date and location his body was found.
Zamperoni had been reported missing after he failed to show up to work for his afternoon shift on Aug. 18 by a coworker, police said.
Barini’s charges come in connection to the deaths of two other people who were found dead in Queens motels on July 4 and July 11, according to the complaint, which also names two other co-conspirators investigators said were her pimp and drug supplier.
