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Bayside bar owner not guilty in double murder

Bayside bar owner not guilty in double murder

HACKENSACK, N.J. — A former Bayside nightclub owner was found not guilty earlier this month of shooting and killing two men from southern Queens three years ago, the Bergen County prosecutor’s office said.

A jury in Hackensack, N.J., acquitted Nicholas Kiriakakis, part owner of Pearl Nightlife, formerly at 45-30 Bell Blvd., of the murders of Jonathan Beneduce, of Howard Beach, and Michael Mirasola, of Ozone Park, the office said.

Beneduce and Mirasola, both single and unemployed, were found dead inside a black Ford Explorer in Teaneck, N.J., Feb. 18, 2010, prosecutors said.

Although the jury acquitted Kiriakakis of the two murder charges, he was found guilty of conspiracy and hindering apprehension, the prosecutor’s office said. His sentencing was scheduled for Jan. 25.