Pace University student shot to death in drug deal gone bad

A Pace University student was shot to death Wednesday morning in the posh Financial District apartment he used to deal drugs, witnesses and police sources said.

Investigators said Maximillion Moreno, 21, sold marijuana to a man and a woman at his tony 37th-floor apartment on Gold St. just after midnight, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.

The pot-seeking couple opened the door to leave and two men - one with a weapon - burst inside. A witness told police the suspects screamed, "Give me the stuff! Give me the stuff!"

When Moreno refused to give up any money, the gunman pulled the trigger.

"He fires once and the safety is on, so it just clicks," according to a police source. "He fired again and the gun went off."

With a deafening roar, a single bullet hit Moreno in the left temple, sending the student crashing to the floor.

The suspects ran from the apartment and escaped despite a brief confrontation in the hallway with an off-duty member of the Erie County Sheriff's Department who was visiting someone in the building, Kelly said.

Investigators were exploring whether the couple that bought drugs moments before the murder was involved in the robbery, police sources said. Police haven't found the couple.

"The detectives are investigating whether this was set up," a police source said. It was not immediately clear if the suspects made off with any drugs or money, police said.

Lights flashing and sirens screaming, dozens of police cars swarmed the high-rise, where one-bedroom apartments rent for $2,300 a month.

"They brought the guy out on a stretcher," said one shaken resident who did not give his name. "He had a towel around his head and there was tons of blood coming from his head."

Paramedics sped Moreno to Bellevue Hospital but he could not be saved.

"My boy is dying!" wailed a friend who gathered outside the building after news of the shooting spread.

Moreno was a marketing/marketing management student in the Lubin School of Business, according to the Pace University directory. He was set to graduate in 2011.

"Pace University is shocked and deeply saddened by news of the death of Max Moreno," said Stephen Friedman, the president of Pace. "We extend our community's deepest sympathies to his family members and friends."

Moreno graduated from Matawan Regional High School in New Jersey, according to his Facebook page.

Kelly said investigators believe Moreno and another man used the flashy off-campus apartment to sell drugs.

A cousin of the dead man insisted Moreno stayed out of trouble.

"He was a fragile kid, always into doing the right thing at school and staying out of trouble," said the distraught cousin, who would not give his name.

The cousin said Moreno worked an after-school job to pay for the expensive apartment - but did not know the nature of his employment.

"He was definitely working a legitimate job," the cousin vowed. "He was trying to do the right thing."



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