NY NY - Rita Fioretti, 35, Bronx, 10 Aug 1986

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The prime suspect in this case is her ex-husband Robert Fioretti. Robert's former stepdaughter, Christina, recently did an interview on the abuse she suffered while living with him. She continues to publicize Rita's disappearance, hoping that someone with information will come forward.

Rita was ruled out for this Jane Doe. I couldn't find her own NamUs profile.

Charley Project

fioretti_rita.jpg


Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
• Missing Since: August 10, 1986 from the Bronx, New York
• Classification: Endangered Missing
• Age: 35 years old
• Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Rita wears eyeglasses.

Details of Disappearance
Rita was last seen in the New York City borough of the Bronx on the morning of August 10, 1986. She had worked for the International Paper Company since 1974 and was supposed to attend a business meeting in Chicago, Illinois that day, but she never showed up. She has never been heard from again. Her former husband, Robert C. Fioretti, stated she left after they got into an argument. At the time of her disappearance, Rita was living with her two sons in the 400 block of King Avenue in the City Island neighborhood. Robert, a police officer, lived in Queens with his radio patrol partner, who was pregnant with his daughter.

Robert stated Rita had left many times before with other men, and that she had a drinking problem and psychiatric problems. Others close to Rita disputed this characterisation, however, describing her as a responsible employee and devoted parent who would not have left without warning. Besides her children, her closest living relative in 1986 was a stepsister who lived in Maryland.

Robert forged Rita's name on two bank withdrawal slips and stole $17,617, all the money in Rita's bank accounts, on October 7, 1986. Robert apparently divorced Rita in 1974, three years into their marriage and twelve years before she vanished. He somehow concealed the fact from her and they continued to live together for years, separating only in 1985. Rita filed for divorce after Robert left her, only to discover, shortly before her disappearance, that she was already divorced. Only days after Rita's family reported her missing, Robert moved into her home with his girlfriend and her two daughters. He married her a month later. All of Robert's children and stepchildren were eventually placed in foster care.

Robert is the prime suspect in Rita's disappearance. Authorities believe that foul play was involved in her case and have investigated it as a presumed homicide. Robert has never been charged in connection with Rita's disappearance, but he was convicted of bank fraud in 1992. At his sentencing hearing, the prosecution sought the maximum penalty because of Robert's status as a suspect in Rita's disappearance. Later that year, on the eve of his trial, Robert also pleaded guilty to sexually abusing his stepdaughters. He served twenty years in prison and also spent some time in a secure psychiatric hospital for sex offenders. He was released in 2009 and now lives in Brooklyn. Photos of him are posted below this case summary.

Investigators believe Rita's remains may have been placed in the Hudson River in New York shortly after she vanished, but she has never been located. The headless body of a female was recovered from the river in 1988 and from spinal X-rays authorities initially believed it was Rita, but further testing with DNA ruled out that possibility. Rita's case remains unsolved.

The authors Ernest Volkman and John Cummings wrote a book about the Fioretti case, called Till Murder Do Us Part; it was published in 1994.


Stepdaughter molested by NYC cop tells story of his missing first wife

Christina and her sister moved into Fioretti’s home on City Island late that summer, living with their mother, Fioretti, and his two boys.

“I knew there was a mother of the two boys, but I didn’t know what had happened to her,” Christina Brooks, now 39, told PIX11 in her first television interview.

But the kids at school soon whispered stories about what may have happened to 35-year-old Rita Fioretti, who’d vanished on August 10, 1986.

“They would say things like, ‘You know, that woman Rita is buried in the walls of your house.’”

Thirty years later, Rita Fioretti’s whereabouts are still unknown, although police suspect she was killed.


Bronx Official Seeks Hair From Relative Of Missing Woman -October 18, 1988

Indictment Is Elusive in a 1986 Slaying - October 28, 1988

25 years after her woman's murder, suspect's stepdaughter fights for justice - July 21, 2011
 
Rita H. Fioretti

fioretti_rita.jpg



Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

• Missing Since: August 10, 1986 from the Bronx, New York
• Classification: Endangered Missing
• Age: 35 years old
• Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Rita wears eyeglasses.

Details of Disappearance


Rita was last seen in the New York City borough of the Bronx on the morning of August 10, 1986. She had worked for the International Paper Company since 1974 and was supposed to attend a business meeting in Chicago, Illinois that day, but she never showed up. She has never been heard from again. Her former husband, Robert C. Fioretti, stated she left after they got into an argument. At the time of her disappearance, Rita was living with her two sons in the 400 block of King Avenue in the City Island neighborhood. Robert, a police officer, lived in Queens with his radio patrol partner, who was pregnant with his daughter.

Robert stated Rita had left many times before with other men, and that she had a drinking problem and psychiatric problems. Others close to Rita disputed this characterisation, however, describing her as a responsible employee and devoted parent who would not have left without warning. Besides her children, her closest living relative in 1986 was a stepsister who lived in Maryland.

Robert forged Rita's name on two bank withdrawal slips and stole $17,617, all the money in Rita's bank accounts, on October 7, 1986. Robert apparently divorced Rita in 1974, three years into their marriage and twelve years before she vanished. He somehow concealed the fact from her and they continued to live together for years, separating only in 1985. Rita filed for divorce after Robert left her, only to discover, shortly before her disappearance, that she was already divorced. Only days after Rita's family reported her missing, Robert moved into her home with his girlfriend and her two daughters. He married her a month later. All of Robert's children and stepchildren were eventually placed in foster care.

Robert is the prime suspect in Rita's disappearance. Authorities believe that foul play was involved in her case and have investigated it as a presumed homicide. Robert has never been charged in connection with Rita's disappearance, but he was convicted of bank fraud in 1992. At his sentencing hearing, the prosecution sought the maximum penalty because of Robert's status as a suspect in Rita's disappearance. Later that year, on the eve of his trial, Robert also pleaded guilty to sexually abusing his stepdaughters. He served twenty years in prison and also spent some time in a secure psychiatric hospital for sex offenders. He was released in 2009 and now lives in Brooklyn. Photos of him are posted below this case summary.

Investigators believe Rita's remains may have been placed in the Hudson River in New York shortly after she vanished, but she has never been located. The headless body of a female was recovered from the river in 1988 and from spinal X-rays authorities initially believed it was Rita, but further testing with DNA ruled out that possibility. Rita's case remains unsolved.

The authors Ernest Volkman and John Cummings wrote a book about the Fioretti case, called Till Murder Do Us Part; it was published in 1994.

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/f/fioretti_rita.html
 
March 18, 1992
Ex-Officer Pleads Guilty to Rape And Sex Abuse of Stepdaughters
A former New York City police officer under investigation in the killing of his first wife, pleaded guilty yesterday to charges that he raped and sexually abused his second wife's two young daughters, the Bronx District Attorney said.
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/18/n...y-to-rape-and-sex-abuse-of-stepdaughters.html

1994 - book published
Ernest Volkman, Author, John Cummings, With - Till Murder Do Us Part
http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-451-40429-9

October 26, 2008
Kids: Don't free ex-cop Robert Fioretti who molested us & likely killed wife
Keep him caged!
Ex-NYPD cop Robert Fioretti - a convicted child molester and suspected wife killer - should be locked up for life, according to the two stepdaughters he sexually abused and his biological daughter. "He got away with murder, literally."
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/cri...ioretti-molested-killed-wife-article-1.302462

May 13, 2009
Molester cop Fioretti to exit prison
Notorious ex-cop Robert Fioretti will be one step closer to freedom Thursday after serving 20 years in prison and a stint in a psychiatric hospital
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/molester-fioretti-exit-prison-article-1.409138

May 29, 2009
CITY ISLAND MOLESTER, SUSPECTED MURDERER, RELEASED
Robert Fioretti, a convicted molester and suspected murderer who shocked City Island 21 years ago, is free. On Thursday, May 14, he left prison for a halfway house in Brooklyn.

Parole officers and therapists will keep Fioretti under strict surveillance; the ex-cop wears an ankle bracelet and is banned from returning to the Bronx. Even so, Fioretti’s release has spooked a number of City Island residents and enraged Christina Brooks, one of the stepdaughters he raped.
http://nypost.com/2009/05/29/city-island-molester-suspected-murderer-released/

July 21, 2011
25 years after her woman's murder, suspect's stepdaughter fights for justice
She believes ex-cop Robert Fioretti, who was her mother's husband, got away with the murder of his first wife 25 years ago this summer on City Island.
She has been trying to get justice for the victim, Rita Fioretti.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...-stepdaughter-fights-justice-article-1.160194

August 31, 2016
Stepdaughter molested by NYC cop tells story of his missing first wife
Christina didn’t know the partner, Officer Robert Fioretti, had a first wife who’d been living in the Bronx with Fioretti’s two sons.
Christina and her sister moved into Fioretti’s home on City Island late that summer, living with their mother, Fioretti, and his two boys.
“I knew there was a mother of the two boys, but I didn’t know what had happened to her,” Christina Brooks, now 39, told PIX11 in her first television interview.
http://pix11.com/2016/08/31/stepdaughter-molested-by-nyc-cop-tells-story-of-his-missing-first-wife/
 
Articles from 1988 and 1989 with some extra details. Jane Doe mentioned was at the end ruled out to be Rita. Name of his new wife I am replacing with dots below.

1988
A Bronx prosecutor asked a judge yesterday for permission to take hair samples from the former brother-in-law of a Bronx woman whose headless body, the police say, was found in the Hudson River last spring, nearly two years after she disappeared.
https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/18/...eeks-hair-from-relative-of-missing-woman.html

1989
The former officer, Robert Fioretti, 39 years old, of 440 King Avenue on City Island in the Bronx, pleaded not guilty to all the charges in the nine-count indictment.

The girls, who are ages 12 and 13, are the daughters of Mr. Fioretti's second wife and former patrol partner,.... , a city police officer.

Rita Fioretti disappeared on August 10, 1986. Her headless body was found floating in the Hudson River in April 1988. The body was strapped to a stepladder. Bond Is Set at $25,000

Yesterday in State Supreme Court in the Bronx, an Assistant Bronx District Attorney, Nancy Borko, asked for a $100,000 bond. She said that the youngest girl had contracted a sexually transmitted disease, chlamydia. The bacterial infection can cause pelvic inflammation in women, leading to infertility.
https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/14/nyregion/ex-officer-held-in-girls-sex-assault.html
 
The prime suspect in this case is her ex-husband Robert Fioretti. Robert's former stepdaughter, Christina, recently did an interview on the abuse she suffered while living with him. She continues to publicize Rita's disappearance, hoping that someone with information will come forward.

Rita was ruled out for this Jane Doe. I couldn't find her own NamUs profile.

Charley Project

fioretti_rita.jpg


Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
• Missing Since: August 10, 1986 from the Bronx, New York
• Classification: Endangered Missing
• Age: 35 years old
• Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Rita wears eyeglasses.

Details of Disappearance
Rita was last seen in the New York City borough of the Bronx on the morning of August 10, 1986. She had worked for the International Paper Company since 1974 and was supposed to attend a business meeting in Chicago, Illinois that day, but she never showed up. She has never been heard from again. Her former husband, Robert C. Fioretti, stated she left after they got into an argument. At the time of her disappearance, Rita was living with her two sons in the 400 block of King Avenue in the City Island neighborhood. Robert, a police officer, lived in Queens with his radio patrol partner, who was pregnant with his daughter.

Robert stated Rita had left many times before with other men, and that she had a drinking problem and psychiatric problems. Others close to Rita disputed this characterisation, however, describing her as a responsible employee and devoted parent who would not have left without warning. Besides her children, her closest living relative in 1986 was a stepsister who lived in Maryland.

Robert forged Rita's name on two bank withdrawal slips and stole $17,617, all the money in Rita's bank accounts, on October 7, 1986. Robert apparently divorced Rita in 1974, three years into their marriage and twelve years before she vanished. He somehow concealed the fact from her and they continued to live together for years, separating only in 1985. Rita filed for divorce after Robert left her, only to discover, shortly before her disappearance, that she was already divorced. Only days after Rita's family reported her missing, Robert moved into her home with his girlfriend and her two daughters. He married her a month later. All of Robert's children and stepchildren were eventually placed in foster care.

Robert is the prime suspect in Rita's disappearance. Authorities believe that foul play was involved in her case and have investigated it as a presumed homicide. Robert has never been charged in connection with Rita's disappearance, but he was convicted of bank fraud in 1992. At his sentencing hearing, the prosecution sought the maximum penalty because of Robert's status as a suspect in Rita's disappearance. Later that year, on the eve of his trial, Robert also pleaded guilty to sexually abusing his stepdaughters. He served twenty years in prison and also spent some time in a secure psychiatric hospital for sex offenders. He was released in 2009 and now lives in Brooklyn. Photos of him are posted below this case summary.

Investigators believe Rita's remains may have been placed in the Hudson River in New York shortly after she vanished, but she has never been located. The headless body of a female was recovered from the river in 1988 and from spinal X-rays authorities initially believed it was Rita, but further testing with DNA ruled out that possibility. Rita's case remains unsolved.

The authors Ernest Volkman and John Cummings wrote a book about the Fioretti case, called Till Murder Do Us Part; it was published in 1994.


Stepdaughter molested by NYC cop tells story of his missing first wife




Bronx Official Seeks Hair From Relative Of Missing Woman -October 18, 1988

Indictment Is Elusive in a 1986 Slaying - October 28, 1988

25 years after her woman's murder, suspect's stepdaughter fights for justice - July 21, 2011

Rita H. Fioretti Charley Project needs entered in NamUs

I'd really like to find her step-daughter to see if she knows where Rita's sons are for DNA.

Stepdaughter molested by NYC cop tells story of his missing first wife - Posted 7:19 PM, August 31, 2016, by Mary Murphy

25 years after her woman's murder, suspect's stepdaughter fights for justice
 
Rita is now listed in NamUs - Missing Person / NamUs #MP54229

Missing Person Case
Yes. Namus restricted my access to the case when it was submitted by me so I didn’t have time to upload the photo of Rita. I sent the photo to Lori Bruski who is the regional contact for her case. I’m guessing she has DNA in the database. I don’t know if she has dentals or fingerprints available.
 
Yes. Namus restricted my access to the case when it was submitted by me so I didn’t have time to upload the photo of Rita. I sent the photo to Lori Bruski who is the regional contact for her case. I’m guessing she has DNA in the database. I don’t know if she has dentals or fingerprints available.

Thank You again, for submitting her.
 
Hello everyone. Rita’s case happened very close to where I live so I have always been fascinated with it. I am new to the site, so I would greatly appreciate it if anyone would like to share any theories or information they have or point me to where I can ask. I am a high school student who is working to build a journalistic portfolio and I hope to spread information about Rita’s case through investigative journalism. Thank you so much!
 
Case Photo

MISSING
Missing Person / NamUs #MP54229Rita H. Fioretti, Female, White / Caucasian
 

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