PALM HARBOR, Fla. — A member of a Tampa Bay-area motorcycle gang was arrested for shooting a member of a related gang to death, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said on Monday.
A couple of days later, the sheriff's office is still searching for other members who the agency says were involved in the murder.
48-year-old Paul Mogilevsky was charged with first-degree murder in the death of 46-year-old Dominick Paternoster.
Dominick was killed on April 27 at his Palm Harbor home.
Nicole Paternoster, the ex-wife of Dominick, said she saw where the scene of the murder occurred.
"I sat in the chair with the bullet holes in it, where his head would have been for about an hour, and cried my eyes out," she said.
Nicole and Dominick shared three kids together but had been separated for over five years. The pair met when they were teenagers in New York.
"He had a great sense of humor. He was quite intelligent and witty. He had a heart of gold," Nicole said.
However, Nicole said things changed in their relationship when Dominick became a drug addict and talked about being part of a biker gang.
"He took a turn for the worst and turned violent, and he never was that way. It was kind of too late for him, I think," she said.
Gualtieri explained that Mogilevsky is a member of the motorcycle gang Mongols, and Paternoster was a member of the Raiders — a smaller gang that fed into the Mongols. Both groups share a clubhouse in Tampa. These clubs are known for killing people who cross them, and that's what happened in this case.
Despite her bad feelings for him, Nicole said she and her children are fighting for justice to find the people who were involved in her ex-husband's murder.
"I like to see all of them executed. Whoever was involved, an eye for an eye. Life imprisonment would not be enough," she said.
A confidential witness told detectives Mogilevsky pre-planned the homicide and admitted to shooting and killing Paternoster.
Mogilevsky and the other members then allegedly disposed of the evidence in Tampa Bay. It was recovered by the sheriff's office dive team.
Gualtieri said these motorcycle gangs are known for engaging in criminal activity like selling drugs and engaging in prostitution.
The investigation of the case remains ongoing.