ICYMI: 'Person of Interest' in Darien Cop Killing Now Arrested in Separate Federal Case

Editor’s note: This article originally was published Wednesday by Darien Patch. We’re republishing it here in case you missed it:

The man named by Darien Police as a “person of interest” in the 1981 shooting death of Darien Police Officer Kenneth Bateman has been arrested by the FBI with assistance from Darien police and West Haven police.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office on Wednesday announced the arrests the day before of Anthony Sabato, 57, of West Haven and Joel Roman, 25, of Hartford on federal drug and firearms offenses.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, an undercover officer bought drugs from Sabato and Roman between January and this month. The two arranged to sell the officer two ounces of crack for $4,000 and also arranged to buy, illegally, a firearm from the undercover officer, prosecutors said in a news release.

The three met at Sabato’s home in West Haven to conclude the deal, which is when the two suspects were arrested, prosecutors said in the statement.

The men were each charged with “conspiring to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base,” which carries a maximum prison term of 40 years. The investigation was conducted by FBI’s New Haven Safe Streets Task Force, with the help of the two local police departments.

Darien Police Sgt. Jeremiah Marron Jr., a spokesman for Darien police, declined to comment on the matter, referring questions to the FBI.

In 2004, Sabato was publicly named as a person of interest in the unsolved killing of Kenneth E. Bateman Jr., who was gunned down on May 31, 1981.

In 2011, Sabato was arrested (in an unrelated case) at his home in West Haven by Wallingford police on a third-degree assault charge.

Picture (Wallingford Police Department): June 10, 2011 Arrest photo of Anthony Sabato from an unrelated case