The political power broker who was shot in the face at his swanky Long Island hotel fears for his life and is under round-the-clock police protection in the hospital, the lead investigator on the case said Tuesday.
Gary Melius, 69, is “extremely lucky” to be alive because the bullet that hit him in the forehead on Monday didn’t pierce his skull, Suffolk County PD Detective Sgt. John O’Sullivan said.
Gary Melius and singer Debbie Gibson at a foundation benefit at the historic Oheka Castle in 2012. Melius was shot in the head Monday by a masked gunman.Photo: Bobby Bank.Wireimage
But Melius went into shock after the assassination attempt and didn’t remember many details during an “extensive” interview from his bed at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset on Tuesday, O’Sullivan said.
“He has no idea who did this to him,” O’Sullivan said.
“We’ve got to investigate every aspect of his personal and professional life to determine who did this to him.”
O’Sullivan said Melius was hit by one of up to three bullets fired by a masked gunman who approached from the rear and shot through the window of Melius’ Mercedes-Benz as he sat in the front seat outside the historic Oheka Castle in Huntington.
The shooter then sped away in a Jeep Cherokee driven by an accomplice.
A parking-lot surveillance camera captured the shooting but not the assailant’s face, a hotel source told The Post.
The main entrance to the sprawling estate is protected by a security guard and a gate that is kept closed until potential guests are identified.
But there’s also a rear entrance for employees that isn’t guarded, that only an insider or someone who had scouted the grounds would know about, sources said.
“Who knows? Maybe it was a disgruntled employee,” said one source close to Melius.
“I talked to authorities. It was definitely an amateur job.”
Pols of all stripes have spent time at Oheka, where Melius — a plumber-turned-developer with extensive connections in the Democratic, Republican and Independence parties — regularly hosts poker games for power players.
But the opulent, French-style chateau — which was featured in the classic movie “Citizen Kane” — was nearly deserted on Tuesday, with the usual crowd of guests scared off by the unsolved shooting of Melius, who lives there with his wife, Pam.
The bullet that hit Melius traveled under the skin from above his right eyebrow and exited near his right ear, O’Sullivan said.
An eye surgeon was called in to treat the wound, but doctors are concerned about damage to Melius’ eye, ear and nose, O’ Sullivan said.
“They haven’t given us an update yet but (Melius) himself has said his hearing seems to be better than it was yesterday. So that’s a positive sign that he is healing and moving in the right direction,” O’Sullivan said.
In addition to guarding the entire hospital floor where Melius is recuperating, cops are also protecting his family, O’Sullivan said.
A political insider said the botched hit came about week after Melius claimed that he ratted out a political rival, Nassau Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs, to the feds
According to the source, Melius is involved in a “blood feud” with Jacobs and revealed alleged “witness tampering and something to do about a judge” tied to the political scandal that prompted last year’s resignation of Nassau County Police Commissioner Thomas Dale.
Jacobs — who has said that “all evil in Nassau politics goes through Oheka Castle” — brushed off the allegations and said he had no idea who shot Melius or why.
“There is no damaging information about me,” he said, adding that he hadn’t been contacted by any investigators.
Additional reporting by Lorena Mongelli
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