Drug dealing squatter took over owner’s NYC apartment after she died from OD, continued to peddle narcotics: cops

An alleged drug dealer took over a Queens apartment after the owner died of an overdose — then squatted in the space for months while peddling narcotics from it, according to neighbors and law enforcement.

Joseph Pisano, 53, allegedly finagled his way into the Jamaica Estates home of Anneliese King, a retired former administrative assistant, after the pair met at a senior center near her building, King’s neighbors and landlord told The Post.

King, 64, who a neighbor and ex-boyfriend described as a longtime heroin addict, let Pisano into her fifth-floor one-bedroom unit on Ava Place where she paid $1,451.40 a month, according to Queens housing court records and residents, who said the alleged dope seller was seen around the builder using a walker.

“[Pisano] took advantage of her,” one neighbor, 53, told The Post. “Some people have a way of recognizing weakness. He recognized she was weak.”

Drug sales went down in the dead of night, the neighbor said, adding that addicts would mistakenly ring her bell looking for Pisano in King’s apartment in the six-story, 52-unit building.

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“The audacity of this man . . . to have [his alleged drug dealing] so visible and putting all our lives in jeopardy,” the neighbor fumed.

King was found dead May 20 in her apartment. She had overdosed on heroin and fentanyl, according to a medical examiner’s report obtained by The Post.

Hours after authorities removed King’s body, Pisano returned to the apartment with another woman and continued occupying the unit, according to Queens Housing Court records.

“She died and they went on with their business,” said Robert Miller, an attorney for landlord Herb Donner.

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Pisano and the woman lived in King’s apartment for more than two months rent-free, the frustrated landlord alleged in the housing court suit.

The quiet, middle-class building further devolved into a hotbed of drug use and sales following King’s death, shattering many residents’ sense of security and peace in the otherwise posh neighborhood.

“Over the past few weeks, squatters have moved into our building on the 5th floor (apt 5B) and are attracting individuals who appear to be drug users. These individuals are engaging in drug transactions right on the sidewalk in front of our building on a daily basis,” one outraged neighbor wrote in a June 28 letter to the building’s management, a copy of which was obtained by The Post.

“We no longer feel safe in our own home and are increasingly worried about our safety and property,” they added.

An NYPD spokesperson said there were no drug-related 911 calls for the building this year.

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The NYPD was initially “reluctant to do anything,” according to housing court records, despite new state laws passed earlier this year intended to let cops intervene more easily in squatter situations.

Donner issued an eviction notice in June against Pisano and his companion before asking a Queens Housing Court judge to boot the unlawful residents, housing court records show

Pisano was finally busted July 31 during a 6 a.m. raid, where cops found a scale covered in cocaine residue on the dining room table, along with 32 vials of coke, 21 glassine envelopes containing heroin, a ledger containing names and cash amounts and other paraphernalia, according to a criminal complaint.

A woman named Kelly King was also arrested and indicted on a slew of drug charges, including possession and intent to sell. It’s unclear if King, 52, has any relation to the dead tenant.

Video surveillance obtained by The Post shows Pisano slowly being shepherded out the door as he used his walker, while King was led away in handcuffs.

Pisano pleaded guilty on Aug. 20 to criminal possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to nine months in Rikers, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz’s office.

King was sentenced to nine months probation after pleading guilty to second-degree criminal use of drug paraphernalia, officials said.

The apartment, meanwhile, remains empty and bolted shut, with Donner waiting for a housing court judge to grant him an eviction warrant to allow him to legally re-enter the space.

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