Victim's Father Tries to Collect $60 Million from Serrano

BARTOW | Condemned murderer Nelson Serrano is facing another legal battle with George Patisso Sr., whose 26-year-old son was among the four victims Serrano was convicted of killing.

In June, Patisso and his wife, Mary Ann, won a $60 million jury verdict against Serrano for the wrongful death of their son, George Jr. Now Patisso is alleging Serrano sheltered his assets by signing everything he owned over to his wife, Maria, in a divorce in August 2007.

In the lawsuit, Patisso is seeking to have those transfers declared fraudulent and reversed so Serrano is forced to pay toward the jury's verdict, even though his holdings don't come close to the $60 million. Lawyers for the Patissos said they don't know the value of Serrano's holdings.

Maria Serrano, who also was named as a defendant in the lawsuit, couldn't be located for comment Monday.

Bartow lawyer Bob Norgard, who represented Serrano in the criminal case and in the Patisso's lawsuit earlier this year, is no longer representing him, according to court records.

Serrano, 70, was sentenced to death in June 2007 for gunning down his business partner, 69-year-old George Gonsalves, and the son, daughter and son-in-law of another business partner, Phil Dosso, at the offices of Erie Manufacturing in Bartow in December 1997. It was the worst mass murder in Polk County history.

One of those other victims, Dosso's daughter Diane Dosso Patisso, was an assistant state attorney. The other two were her husband, George Patisso Jr., and Dosso's son Frank. His father, as his personal representative, is filing the lawsuit against Serrano.

CONVICTED IN 2006

Serrano was convicted of first-degree murder in the execution-style slayings in October 2006. He told authorities he was in Atlanta when the killings took place, but they broke his alibi when they discovered his fingerprint on a parking garage receipt at Orlando International Airport the day of the murders.

Prosecutors said Serrano used assumed names to book airline reservations and rental cars in a whirlwind trip to Florida to commit the murders. Dosso and Gonsalves had ousted him as president of Erie, which manufactured garment conveyor systems, and he was seeking retribution, prosecutors said.

Serrano's wife, Maria, came to court daily during the seven-week trial. She testified on her husband's behalf during the January 2007 sentencing hearing, saying he would never hurt anyone.

"He was always ready to help people, not harm people for any reason," she said during the hearing, looking toward her husband. "That's why I'm still with you."

On June 1, 2007, the day before their 43rd wedding anniversary, Maria Serrano filed for divorce in Manatee County, where she was living with their son, Francisco. Three weeks later, in a Polk County courtroom, Circuit Judge Susan Roberts sentenced Serrano to death for each of the four murder convictions.

Two months after that, the Serranos' divorce was final in Manatee County, along with the agreement that Maria Serrano would receive all of the marital assets, including one-third interest in the business where the murders took place.

Dosso owns the remaining two-thirds of the company stock, having purchased Gonsalves' shares after his murder.

STOCK VALUE UNKNOWN

Tampa lawyer John Anthony of the Gray Robinson law firm, said Monday he doesn't know yet what the stock might be worth.

"That's one of the many issues we will be sorting out as we move forward with this litigation," he said.

The lawsuit, filed last week in Polk Circuit Court, also lists a Charles Schwab investment account and a one-third interest in the building and grounds at 1520 Centennial Blvd. in Bartow, where Erie Manufacturing continues to build conveyor systems for commercial customers.

The Polk County Property Appraiser's Office lists the property's value at $919,478, and the county's Official Records show that Serrano transferred his interest to Maria in August 2007.

[ Suzie Schottelkotte can be reached at suzie.schottelkotte@theledger.com or 863-533-9070. ]