Paternoster was a member of the Raiders MC, a feeder group for the Mongols MC. The two share a clubhouse in Tampa, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said at a news conference Monday. “Paternoster was not just killed. He was executed,” Gualtieri said.
He declined to say, however, whether Paternoster was an informant. Mogilevsky and Paternoster were at the Mongols clubhouse in Tampa together on April 27, the night Paternoster was killed, Gualtieri said. They then went to Paternoster’s Palm Harbor home with another person.
Video evidence and witnesses placed the suspects at Paternoster’s home on the night of the shooting, Gualtieri said. Mogilevsky initially said he and another person left Paternoster asleep in a recliner at home, according to court documents. However, investigators said Mogilevsky lied about the timeline of events that night.
A confidential witness also told authorities that Mogilevsky had planned the shooting and admitted to killing Paternoster, court documents say, and authorities were able to verify some of the information the witness provided. Mogilevsky and the other suspect got rid of some evidence in Tampa Bay, Gualtieri said. Members of the sheriff’s office dive team helped recover the evidence.
Gualtieri said multiple guns were used to shoot Paternoster in his home, where he was found dead about 4:30 p.m. on April 28, according to court documents. Law enforcement is still investigating the death and plans to make other arrests, the sheriff said.