Story perspectives

Mario Fernandez Saldana Faces Murder Trial in August 2026

8/17/2026

Summary

Story summary

Mario Fernandez Saldana will stand trial for the murder-for-hire of Jared Bridegan, scheduled Aug. 17-28, 2026 after jury selection ended Aug. 10, 2026.
Prosecutors will present checks signed by Mario Fernandez Saldana totaling $10,000 and a spare tire containing Henry Tenon’s DNA from Jan. 5 and Jan. 29, 2022.
Henry Tenon withdrew his March 16, 2023 guilty plea and will be tried in March 2027.
Shanna Gardner’s jury selection is set for Aug. 31-Sept. 4, 2026 and trial for Sept. 8-25, 2026.

History

Historical Context

After the FBI’s 1990 raid on the Ravenite led to John Gotti’s 1992 conviction—life imprisonment and a $250,000 fine—prosecutors began relying on recorded conversations and detailed financial trails. That strategy resurfaced in the 1999 plea of John Gotti Jr., who received six years and five months for racketeering, shaping today’s murder-for-hire cases that emphasize forensic and monetary evidence.

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Story summary

Mario Fernandez Saldana will stand trial for the murder-for-hire of Jared Bridegan, scheduled Aug. 17-28, 2026 after jury selection ended Aug. 10, 2026.
Prosecutors will present checks signed by Mario Fernandez Saldana totaling $10,000 and a spare tire containing Henry Tenon’s DNA from Jan. 5 and Jan. 29, 2022.
Henry Tenon withdrew his March 16, 2023 guilty plea and will be tried in March 2027.
Shanna Gardner’s jury selection is set for Aug. 31-Sept. 4, 2026 and trial for Sept. 8-25, 2026.

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