Coin dealers killer gets life term
Michigan
Posts: 4,942 ✭
MIDDLESEX COUNTY — As Michael Behn stood before Superior Court Judge Jane Cantor yesterday, he told her she was sentencing the wrong person.
"I did not kill Mr. (Robert) Rose," said Behn, who was convicted at his retrial in April for the 1995 robbery and murder of a South River coin dealer.
Cantor, sitting in New Brunswick, sentenced Behn to life in prison with parole eligibility in 30 years for the murder of Rose, 52, and an additional 12 years for the robbery conviction.
Cantor credited Behn with the 3,972 days he already has served, meaning he will be eligible for parole in about 19 years.
The judge sentenced Behn after listening to impact statements read by several family members including the victim's wife, Renee Rose, and the couple's three sons, Alan, 37, Scott, 34, and Geoffrey, 30.
Renee spoke of her love for her husband and how he never had the opportunity to share in the joy of their sons' college and career accomplishments. "It is not fair that he was denied these pleasures."
The sons spoke of the impact their father had on their lives and about their sorrow that he was not able to share in their accomplishments.
Behn's sister, Jacqueline Behn, in pleading for a minimum sentence, told Cantor her brother was a "kind and caring person" who is devoted to his family.
Behn's attorney, Paul Casteliero, argued that his client should be sentenced to the minimum of 30 years without parole.
During his first trial in 1997, Behn, formerly of Piscataway, was convicted of murder for fatally shooting Rose on July 19, 1995, in his Main Street, South River, coin shop.
Behn was spared the death penalty during that trial and was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Barnett J. Hoffman to life in prison plus 15 years for the robbery.
That conviction was overturned in March 2005. A new trial was ordered after the Appellate Division ruled that testimony by an FBI expert on bullet-lead analysis was based on faulty science.
During the trial in April, Assistant Prosecutor Neil Casey argued Behn shot Rose four times in the head with a .22-caliber Marlin rifle while robbing him of a $40,000 coin collection. The weapon, which Behn reported stolen shortly after purchasing it in October 1994, was never recovered.
The collection of 19 coins was found in a safe in an office Behn maintained in his mother's Middlesex Borough condominium. Also seized from the office were a pair of handcuffs that police said were used by Behn to restrain Rose and a partially filled box of .22-caliber bullets.
Behn, who testified at both trials, denied the charges. He said he had arranged the transaction be private because he had not paid state or federal income tax on $40,000 he was using to pay for the coins and was not going to pay sales tax on the purchase.
Casey argued that Behn never had $40,000 and made less than $25,000 a year selling car-cleaning products. He produced documents and presented testimony that showed Behn's credit card debt at the time of the murder was $33,000 and that he had $23,000 in loans from the family.
The $40,000 was never recovered. Behn and his attorney contended the money was stolen by whomever killed Rose.
"I did not kill Mr. (Robert) Rose," said Behn, who was convicted at his retrial in April for the 1995 robbery and murder of a South River coin dealer.
Cantor, sitting in New Brunswick, sentenced Behn to life in prison with parole eligibility in 30 years for the murder of Rose, 52, and an additional 12 years for the robbery conviction.
Cantor credited Behn with the 3,972 days he already has served, meaning he will be eligible for parole in about 19 years.
The judge sentenced Behn after listening to impact statements read by several family members including the victim's wife, Renee Rose, and the couple's three sons, Alan, 37, Scott, 34, and Geoffrey, 30.
Renee spoke of her love for her husband and how he never had the opportunity to share in the joy of their sons' college and career accomplishments. "It is not fair that he was denied these pleasures."
The sons spoke of the impact their father had on their lives and about their sorrow that he was not able to share in their accomplishments.
Behn's sister, Jacqueline Behn, in pleading for a minimum sentence, told Cantor her brother was a "kind and caring person" who is devoted to his family.
Behn's attorney, Paul Casteliero, argued that his client should be sentenced to the minimum of 30 years without parole.
During his first trial in 1997, Behn, formerly of Piscataway, was convicted of murder for fatally shooting Rose on July 19, 1995, in his Main Street, South River, coin shop.
Behn was spared the death penalty during that trial and was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Barnett J. Hoffman to life in prison plus 15 years for the robbery.
That conviction was overturned in March 2005. A new trial was ordered after the Appellate Division ruled that testimony by an FBI expert on bullet-lead analysis was based on faulty science.
During the trial in April, Assistant Prosecutor Neil Casey argued Behn shot Rose four times in the head with a .22-caliber Marlin rifle while robbing him of a $40,000 coin collection. The weapon, which Behn reported stolen shortly after purchasing it in October 1994, was never recovered.
The collection of 19 coins was found in a safe in an office Behn maintained in his mother's Middlesex Borough condominium. Also seized from the office were a pair of handcuffs that police said were used by Behn to restrain Rose and a partially filled box of .22-caliber bullets.
Behn, who testified at both trials, denied the charges. He said he had arranged the transaction be private because he had not paid state or federal income tax on $40,000 he was using to pay for the coins and was not going to pay sales tax on the purchase.
Casey argued that Behn never had $40,000 and made less than $25,000 a year selling car-cleaning products. He produced documents and presented testimony that showed Behn's credit card debt at the time of the murder was $33,000 and that he had $23,000 in loans from the family.
The $40,000 was never recovered. Behn and his attorney contended the money was stolen by whomever killed Rose.
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Comments
May he rot in jail and then continue to rot in hell after he dies.
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Should have the death penalty like we do in Florida and use it.
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
BARF!
The name is LEE!
Concerning the guilty party's family saying how
nice a guy he was - I have a question.............
Have any of you ever heard ANY family members
of the guilty party, when sentencing time comes,
in murders, robbery, drunk driving, hit-and-runs,
etc. etc. ever say "He was a scum bag, POS, and
I'm glad he's going to jail. He was a lousy Father,
Brother, etc." "His sentence isn't long enough,
he deserves more time"
Having a family member say how wonderful a guilty
person is, is to me a totally worthless waste of breath.
(When the evidence is overwhelming)
Fred
I am satisfied with the sentence and hope that Renee and her sons can be more at peace.
I firmly believe in numismatics as the world's greatest hobby, but recognize that this is a luxury and without collectors, we can all spend/melt our collections/inventories.
eBaystore
Thank God for that!!!!
Ike Specialist
Finest Toned Ike I've Ever Seen, been looking since 1986
Huh? What am I missing here? A premeditated robbery murder and he is eligible for parole?
What kind of judge hands out this kind of sentence?!!!
No parole no pardons no nothing for killers!
jom
<< <i>What kind of judge hands out this kind of sentence?!!! >>
A judge from New Jersey, that's what kind. The state has become one of the bluest of the blue states since I moved from there in the late 1970s.
The firm of RenRob (Renee, his wife, and Bob Rose) was well know fixture at New Jersey coin shows while I was there. His murder came as quite a shock to those who knew him from the show circuit.
A worse penalty then deatch would be my awfull life for someone who kills one of my kids. I would make him/her blind, deaf, cut out his/her tongue and cut off his/her hands. Making sure he/she stays alive to live a long life of nothing.
ps. maybe even sterilization!!!
<< <i>A worse penalty then deatch would be my awfull life for someone who kills one of my kids. I would make him/her blind, deaf, cut out his/her tongue and cut off his/her hands. Making sure he/she stays alive to live a long life of nothing. >>
If you'd seen The Princess Bride, you'd know that you should keep the ears intact.
That is what "to the pain" means!
Your posts are thorough and very informative. It is unfortunate that there is so much negative stuff to have to report. Bob Rose was one of the good guys. He always had time to talk at coin shows, even if you weren't a big spender. I miss him, and wish the murderer hadn't won a new trial, so all this had to be brought to the foreground again. Rest in peace Bob!
Arnold
<< <i>Having a family member say how wonderful a guilty
person is, is to me a totally worthless waste of breath.
(When the evidence is overwhelming) >>
Having family members say how wonderful the deceased was and how terrible it is that they can't share their thriumphs, etc with himis also a waste of breath. Just like you say that you never hear the gulty persons family say that he was a scumbag, you never hear the victims family say "Yeah dad beat me all the time as a kid, he was never there for me and I'm glad he's gone blah blah blah."
In short the stories for both sides are completely predictable and therefor meaningless. The guilty was always a good guy that we can't believe would do this, and the victim is always a saint just waiting for his cannonation.