Joseph Sullivan was a New York contract killer who was convicted of three murders: two on Long Island and the December 1981 murder of John Fiorino in Irondequoit, outside Rochester. He was sentenced to a total of 87 years to life and entered prison in November 1982. He died in New York State on June 9, 2017, at the age of 78.
Before those convictions he had escaped from a New York state prison, in April 1971, and had been recaptured about six weeks later in Manhattan.
Sullivan was born in New York City. His date of birth is not on record; he was 78 when he died in 2017, which puts it around 1938 or 1939.
In 1965 he killed a man in Queens. He was serving a sentence for that killing in a New York state prison when he escaped in April 1971. He was found about six weeks later in Manhattan and returned to custody.
He was paroled in 1975 and moved to the New York City area. Authorities later suspected him of carrying out 20 to 30 contract killings for organized crime, though three murders are the only ones for which he was convicted.
On December 17, 1981, John Fiorino was killed in Irondequoit, a suburb of Rochester. Sullivan was a hired killer, and the murder was a contract killing. Who hired him is not on record, and no one is on record as convicted of hiring him.
A second man was arrested on the night of the murder. The outcome of any case against him is not on record.
Sullivan was found a little over two months later. He was arrested on February 23, 1982, in Webster, in Monroe County, by federal agents. He was charged with murder and attempted murder and pleaded not guilty in Monroe County Court.
Two further murders on Long Island make up the rest of the conviction. The victims' names, the dates and the courts are not on record. They belong to the three-murder total attached to the 87-years-to-life term, which he began serving in November 1982.
Sullivan entered the state prison system in November 1982 to serve 87 years to life. He remained in custody for the rest of his life. He died in New York State custody on June 9, 2017.
Sullivan was suspected by authorities of 20 to 30 killings. None of these produced a charge.
1965: Sullivan kills a man in Queens and is imprisoned.
April 1971: escapes from a New York state prison; recaptured about six weeks later in Manhattan.
1975: paroled.
December 17, 1981: John Fiorino murdered in Irondequoit.
February 23, 1982: Sullivan arrested in Webster; pleads not guilty to murder and attempted murder in Monroe County Court.
November 1982: begins serving 87 years to life for three murders.
June 9, 2017: dies in New York State, aged 78.