Public Safety
Drug Conviction Gets Person of Interest in Bateman Cop Killing a 13-Year Sentence
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Anthony Sabato, named a “person of interest” in the 1981 killing of Darien Police Officer Kenneth Bateman, was sentenced Wednesday to 13 years and nine months in prison on unrelated drug-selling charges. The sentencing judge in U.S. District Court in Hartford also found that Sabato, 57, had “supplied the firearm that was used in the murder of Darien Police Officer Kenneth Bateman in May 31, 1981,” according to a statement issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Connecticut. Sabato, a West Haven resident, was arrested on March 24 on an accusation he sold two ounces of crack cocaine to an undercover police officer for $4,000. He’s been in jail since then, and pleaded guilty on July 6 to one count of “conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 280 grams or more of cocaine base,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In a long criminal career, Sabato has been convicted of 35 crimes since 1975.