Fraud Felon Silvi Wants Father’s “Murderer” Found

Nearly three years ago, it was said that William Silvi murdered his father, William Marcucci, in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. He was acquitted in the murder trial last month, but he says that the real murderer is still at large and investigators still have a job to do.  As mentioned previously in The Fraud Report, Silvi was convicted of insurance fraud and sentenced to 12 years in prison. 

“If I didn’t do this, then there is a murderer out there,” he said in a recent interview at the Bergen County Jail.

Marcucci was found dead in his car in the parking lot of a Bennigan’s restaurant on May 19, 2008.

As reported by NorthJersey.com, Silvi had some strong words for the Bergen County prosecutors, criticizing them for charging him with his father’s murder and for not pursuing other leads. He thinks those leads would have led them to other suspects. 

The prosector isn’t buying it, however.  According to Danielle Grootenboer, the assistant Bergen County prosecutor who originally tried the case, there were no other leads to pursue.

Grootenboer said in an interview that, “absolutely and unequivocally,” no leads were neglected by investigators. “The detectives in this case pursued the evidence that led them to the murderers,” she said. “The jury spoke and we respect their decision,” she said. “However, this investigation is over. As far as we are concerned, there is no murderer on the loose. The people who were involved were arrested, prosecuted and tried to a jury. This case is closed.”

Evidence presented in the trial showed that Silvi helped his father obtain life insurance. He was then sentenced to 12 years in state prison for insurance fraud. Silvi didn’t have much to say about that fraud conviction in his interview. 

If Marcucci, who was 64, had died from natural causes, he would not have been entitled to any money under the policies. Due to his poor health conditions however, the only type of insurance he could obtain was accidental death insurance, which includes homicide. He had already suffered a heart attack, used a pacemaker and had been diagnosed with cancer.

In the months before his death, four life insurance policies were purchased that totaled about $750,000. According to his insurance companies, the payout on these policies would be reduced by 20 percent after he turned 65. As it happened, he was killed just two months before his 65th birthday. How convenient was that?

Throughout the trial, prosecutors argued that Silvi —the beneficiary of those policies— was the mastermind behind the murder. They believed that there was no doubt that the insurance money was the motive for Marcucci’s murder.

Throughout the jailhouse interview, Silvi details various tidbits of evidence that he felt was supressed, that in his mind pointed to the existence of another killer. 

“My brother and I did not conspire to commit murder,” Silvi said during his interview at the jail. “I don’t have to prove that I didn’t do it, because I already did that in court. But people in Bergen County should be upset that there is a murderer out there.”

Quite a few jurors refused to comment on how they reached their verdict.

Superior Court Judge Donald Venezia, who presided over the trial, summed up the case after he sentenced Silvi on February 24^th.

“Only God knows what happened that night in Saddle Brook,” he said.