‘Bicycle Bob’ sentenced in manslaughter case

WHITE PLAINS – A Mahopac Falls man, known around town as “Bicycle Bob,” was sentenced in Westchester County Court Friday to 15 years in state prison on his guilty plea of first-degree manslaughter in the death of Richard McKeon.

Robert Gallo, 53, who was a handyman who rode a bike everywhere, fought with McKeon after the victim would not let him live in his Lake Peekskill home. The two men knew each other and Gallo had done some work around McKeon’s home.

Between March 25 and March 28, 2007, the men argued inside the victim’s home. Gallo assaulted McKeon with a stool, an axe and a knife.

On April 2, neighbors became worried after noticing a pile of uncollected newspapers at McKeon’s front door. They knocked and after they received no answer, one neighbor climbed through a window and discovered his body on the kitchen floor.

The victim was covered in a blanket and an axe and two large knives were lying next to it. His wallet, with no cash, was found under the body.

The victim had been dead for several days, an autopsy revealed.

A police investigation led to Gallo’s arrest.