By Alex Christodoulides
A U.S. Customs and Border protection officer assigned to Kennedy Airport has been indicted in the June shooting death of a real estate broker outside the officer's home in Forest Hills, the Queens district attorney said Friday.
The customs officer, Eric Alke, 41, of Kessel Street allegedly had been drinking with the broker, Adrian Moldovan, 50, also of Forest Hills, on the afternoon of June 26, the DA Richard Brown said.
Alke allegedly fired his .38-caliber revolver and struck Moldovan in the chest, killing him, the DA said. At the time, Moldovan was helping his friend, Alke's landlord, to build a backyard patio at the Kessel Street address, the DA said.
Alke, who has been on modified duty since the incident, was arraigned before Queens Supreme Court Justice Robert Hanophy Friday on charges of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, DA Brown said.
If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison, the DA said.
Alke was ordered held on $75,000 bail and was due back in court Sept. 3, the DA said.
In June, Alke told police that he and Moldovan had been talking in his kitchen when Moldovan took the revolver off the table and shot himself.
Reach reporter Alex Christodoulides by e-mail at achristodoulides@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.
