Bergen Convicted Murderer Sentenced To 55 Years In Prison: Officials

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A local man convicted of murdering his upstairs neighbor was sentenced to 55 years in prison, according to authorities.

Francis Tattoli was convicted in November 2022 of murdering Monet Thomas by strangulation in their East Rutherford apartment building nearly seven years ago, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.

Tattoli, who was 24 at the time of Thomas' murder, is sentenced now to five decades in state prison. He was convicted by a jury of felony murder and kidnapping, Musella said.

Before Tattoli killed Thomas in 2016, he kidnapped her from the hallway of the apartment complex while she was returning from walking her dog. He then dragged her by the throat into his first-floor apartment, where he strangled her, the prosecutor's office said.

In the 2016 incident, Thomas, 25, was found unresponsive just inside Tattoli's apartment, and she was taken to a local hospital and died of her injuries a few days later, Patch reported.

A hotel sales manager in Secaucus, Thomas is survived by her mom, and many relatives and friends, her obit said.