By MAURA GRUNLUND

and MIRA WASSEF





STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Police are investigating a suspected suicide of a court officer in Moravian Cemetery, New Dorp.

The man was a New York State Court officer and 23-year-veteran of the court system who was assigned to Richmond County Criminal Court, according to a source with the Office of Court Administration.

EMS was called to the cemetery, located on the 2200 block of Richmond Road, at 8:51 a.m. Tuesday, according to a spokesman for the FDNY/EMS.

A white man in his 50s was found dead inside the cemetery, said a spokeswoman for the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

The victim had a gunshot wound to his head, and a gun was recovered by police, according to the spokeswoman.

The identity of the man has not been released pending notification of kin, police said.

The investigation is ongoing, police said.

As of noon, an NYPD vehicle was stationed outside the cemetery's Todt Hill Road exit, and police were turning people away. The main gate on Richmond Road was closed.

Detectives and other police personnel were seen working in burial areas of the cemetery that were roped off with caution tape. A sedan with the driver's side window covered appeared to be a focus of the probe.

This is a breaking news story. More information will be posted as it becomes available.