D.A. Bragg announces sentencing of assistant in brutal 2020 Lower East Side murder of tech CEO

Photos from July 2020 by Stacie Joy 

A personal assistant who was convicted of murdering his former boss in his East Houston Street home after embezzling $400,000 from him was sentenced on Tuesday to 40 years to life in prison.

Manhattan D.A. Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced the sentencing of Tyrese Haspil in the brutal July 2020 slaying of tech CEO Fahim Saleh in his condo on the SW corner of Houston and Suffolk. Haspil, 25, was also ordered to pay restitution for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from Saleh's companies. 

Haspil was convicted on all charges, including Murder in the First Degree and two counts of Grand Larceny, in a New York State Supreme Court trial this past June. 

Beginning in May 2018, Haspil worked as Saleh's entrepreneurial assistant, handling financial tasks. Over the following months, he executed a series of elaborate embezzlement schemes. By creating fake accounts and entities, Haspil stole increasing amounts of money, eventually totaling nearly $400,000. 

Despite catching wind of one fraudulent scheme in early 2020, Saleh, showing mercy, offered Haspil a repayment plan instead of pursuing legal action. Haspil continued stealing and ultimately devised a plan to murder his boss to avoid facing criminal charges. (Press reports claimed that Haspil was worried his girlfriend would find out about the stolen money and leave him.) 

On July 13, 2020, Haspil ambushed Saleh in his apartment after a planned attack involving a Taser and a knife. After killing him, Haspil attempted to cover up the crime by dismembering the body and disposing of evidence. His actions were discovered when Saleh's cousin, concerned after not hearing from him for a day, entered his apartment and made the grisly discovery. 

Haspil was arrested four days later at an Airbnb, where he was celebrating his girlfriend's birthday. According to the DA's office, his PayPal embezzlement continued right up until his capture.

"While today’s sentence won't bring Mr. Saleh back, I hope it provides his family a sense of closure as they continue to mourn his painful loss," Bragg said in a statement.

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• Body of dismembered, decapitated man found inside residence on Houston and Suffolk

A memorial for Fahim Saleh on East Houston Street

[Photos yesterday by Stacie Joy]

A makeshift memorial with multiple bouquets of flowers grows outside 265 E. Houston St., where the stabbed and dismembered body of Fahim Saleh, 33, was found last Tuesday in his seventh-floor residence here at Suffolk Street...





On Friday, Saleh's former assistant, Tyrese Devon Haspil, 21, was arrested and charged with the murder. As The New York Times reported: "Some investigators theorized that the suspect had tried to make the killing look like a professional assassination to divert attention from himself."

Yesterday, Legal Aid Society attorneys with the Homicide Defense Task Force who are representing Haspil said he has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. Per CNN:

"We are in the very earliest stages of ferreting out the truth. The life of this case promises to be long and complex. As the attorneys for Mr. Haspil, we urge the public to keep an open mind."

An aunt told the Daily News this past weekend that Haspil "was a quiet young man, at times annoying, but incapable of the cold-blooded murder."

Haspil allegedly killed his boss after getting caught embezzling more than $90,000 from him. Saleh had said he would not call the police if Haspil paid the money back in installments, according to published reports.

During the arraignment, Manhattan assistant district attorney Linda Ford said that they have overwhelming video evidence against Haspil, including surveillance video showing him at a Home Depot purchasing the saw and cleaning supplies.

His next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 17.

Among other endeavors, Saleh was the CEO of Gokada, a motorbike ride-hail company in Nigeria. He was born in Saudi Arabia to Bangladeshi parents and was raised in upstate New York.

His family issued this statement last week:

"The headlines talk about a crime we still cannot fathom. Fahim is more than what you are reading. He is so much more. His brilliant and innovative mind took everyone who was a part of his world on a journey and he made sure never to leave anyone behind."

Reports: Police arrest former personal assistant in murder of tech CEO

[Photo by Stacie Joy]

Police have a suspect in custody for the murder and dismemberment of tech CEO Fahim Saleh in his apartment on Houston and Suffolk Monday.

The New York Times has more on the suspect, identified as Saleh's former personal assistant.

Tyrese Devon Haspil, 21, was expected to be charged in a criminal complaint with second degree murder and other crimes.

Detectives believe that the motive for the killing stemmed from Mr. Saleh having discovered that the assistant had stolen tens of thousands of dollars from him, despite the fact that Mr. Saleh had not reported the man and had set up what amounted to a repayment plan for him to return the money, one of the officials said.

Saleh was found decapitated and dismembered on Tuesday. Police offices yesterday said that Saleh was stabbed to death. According to the NYPD and published reported, Saleh used a key fob to select his seventh-floor residence in the elevator Monday afternoon. Surveillance footage shows a man wearing black and carrying a bag following him on and acting like he selected a different floor.

When they arrived on the seventh floor, the man followed Saleh, possibly knocking him out with a taser.

Police believe the killer was interrupted at the scene by Saleh's sister, who had come to the building to check on her brother.

Updated 7/18:

Gothamist has a summary of the arrest and charges here. Haspil was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. He was held without bail after his arraignment early today.