Twenty-four years ago, Ted Ammon, a hedge fund magnate, was found bludgeoned to death in his East Hampton, Long Island home – an area known as an exclusive summer refuge for New York society, celebrities and the ultra-wealthy.

In this edition of Crime Files, News 12's senior reporter Tara Rosenblum takes a deep dive into the investigation.

Oct. 22, 2001 Suffolk County police found Ammon dead in his bedroom, “on the ground in a tremendous amount of blood,” according to Janet Albertson, former Suffolk County District Attorney homicide bureau chief. "It was a savage beating," added Paul Schreiber, a retired Suffolk County Police Department homicide detective. "He died from blunt force trauma caused by a heavy object. Somebody really wanted this guy dead."

"He suffered anywhere from 30 to 40 wounds, most of them to his head," said Janet Albertson, former Suffolk County DA Bureau chief. "Forty blows is overkill. This suggested a rage and an anger personally directed at Ted Ammon."

Police quickly determined that Ammon was attacked while he was sleeping. "The beating started in the bed and continued while he was lying on the floor," says Schreiber.

Detectives scrutinized the room but could not find a murder weapon.

They did find nearly $2,000 in cash on a nearby countertop. "There's no sign of forced entry," said Albertson. "His money's laying there. The keys to his Porsche, the alarm system's off. Nothing is taken from the house."

"You gotta look at business dealings, his inner circle, partners, associates, clients he dealt with, people who might have a motive," says Schreiber. Schreiber says Ammon's business associate and his chauffeur were the ones who found him dead. That associate immediately became a person of interest but was cleared of any wrongdoing when police determined there was nothing nefarious about their relationship.

"Ted Ammon didn't really have any enemies. He was a nice guy. Very generous. Very wealthy," said Schreiber. Detectives then focused on his final hours.

They say Ammon never made it to a board meeting at Lincoln Center. And when he didn't pick up his twins from school, the alarm was immediate. He was said to have adored his kids and wouldn't have missed a moment with them.

Police did learn that he was going through a contentious divorce. Ammon told friends his divorce wasn't finalized, and his wife, Generosa, was not easy to deal with. "From the numerous interviews with the people that were familiar with her, she was not a very nice person," said Schreiber.

THEIR RELATIONSHIP Generosa and Ted Ammon married in 1986 and decided to start a family. After an inability to conceive their own children, they adopted twins from Ukraine. In 1991, they bought a beach house on Middle Lane in East Hampton.

To outsiders, the Ammons appeared to have it all – a polished New York City townhouse, a pristine manor in the English countryside and a stunning summer home in The Hamptons.

"Friends and family members noticed a change in Generosa," said crime reporter and podcaster Lauren Conlin. "She was borderline jealous to the point of ridiculousness." It seemed Ammon was cheating on her, and there was talk that was not confirmed that the woman might be pregnant with his child. "I think she was suffering mental health issues all directly related to the divorce, the paranoia," said Albertson. The couple moved the family to England to try to save their marriage, but once there, Generosa found proof that Ammon was looking to get out of the marriage. "Generosa came across some legal letters that Ted had been having conversations with divorce attorneys," says attorney and author Beverly Lake Wilkes. Generosa purchased a townhouse and moved to New York City to beat Ted to the divorce proceedings. The couple separated, and the fights snowballed into a war. "She was angry and vengeful," said Lake Wilkes. “She made it known to a lot of people, including myself, that she wished Ted were dead." Generosa demanded half of his estate, which she estimated to be worth more than $300 million. Ammon claimed it's only about $50 million.

"The divorce wasn't finalized because Generosa was making some very intense demands," says Conlin. "I think she wanted something like over $25 million a year." Detectives learned that Generosa moved out and stayed at the exclusive Stanhope Hotel while she remodeled her $9 million townhouse. Generosa, who was now wildly spending Ted's money on renovations, refused the divorce settlement, seeking even more money and full ownership of the beach house, which they shared. "She had all kinds of people working for her," said Albertson. "Ted Ammon footed that bill - $25,000 to $40,000 a month, easily." Ammon finally had enough of the games and cut off access to his cash, forcing Generosa to settle for $25 million and the townhouse. She was due to sign divorce papers on the Monday when Ammon was found dead. A BREAK IN THE CASE Suffolk County police got a major break one day after Ammon's death. A security-system installer showed up at the Hamptons house with crucial information – he once worked for Generosa in the city, and she hired him to install a secret video system in the Hamptons house. It was a system that Ted knew nothing about. "Generosa was very paranoid. She always thought Ted was stealing wine from the house when it was his turn to stay there. And she really felt she wasn't getting all the money," said Albertson. Albertson said there were cameras throughout the house. "None of them were in the bedrooms for privacy reasons," she says. “One of them was outside of Ted Ammon's bedroom where the murder occurred. So you would have had the image of the murderer going up the stairs to the bedroom to commit the crime."

Schreiber said the video from the camera would go to a hard drive, which was hidden. It was so well hidden, that even the police needed help to find it. "The hard-drive equipment was in the eaves of the attic, behind the beam, under the pink insulation…and the power source for it was a simple plug," said Albertson.

When police searched for the system, it was gone. Only the plug was left behind.

"The hard drive is gone. So all that was there are the wires from the back, but the unit, which would have contained all of the images from the cameras, was completely missing," said Albertson.

"When we first found out about the hard drive, I kind of felt deep down that it's too good to be true," said Schreiber. "The only people who knew where the hard drive was Ted's wife, Generosa, the guy who installed it, his workers and Danny Pelosi, who supervised it."

It was the first time they heard of Pelosi, an electrician managing renovations at Generosa's New York City townhouse.

Detectives headed to the townhouse in New York City to question her to determine if she had a role in Ammon's last night alive.

"She did not answer the door," says Albertson. "Instead, Danny Pelosi answered the door and would not allow them to speak to her. He invoked an attorney, which is always a red flag."

It set off big alarms. Pelosi, one of the only people who knew the location of the missing security system hard drive, was now Generosa's live-in partner. It left detectives questioning his path from employee to lover.

Albertson said Pelosi described the start of their romance as “hitting the lotto.” Despite his apparent “jackpot,” Pelosi still had a wife and three children living on Long Island.

"I think that Generosa thought that Danny would be some kind of a threatening presence to Ted because of his long rap sheet and his thuggish behavior," said Lake Wilkes.

Ammon, by contrast, kept his life buttoned up. Despite the constant fights with Generosa, he never revised his will, so she inherited the entire estate.

Generosa quickly lawyered up and refused to speak to police, keeping investigators in the dark.

In a shocking move, only three months after Ammon’s murder, Pelosi got divorced so he could marry Generosa.

"She did the one thing that you should probably never do if you want suspicion about you to die down, she married the prime suspect three months later - who would have known where the hard drive is? Who would have had a motive to get his hands on all the money besides Danny Pelosi? Almost no one," says Albertson.

As Albertson worked to build her case, Generosa received devastating news – stage 4 breast cancer.

"We tried to get her to come in. She literally was about to die. The attorney just said she has nothing to say. And he wouldn't bring her in. He's like, 'She wants to die in peace. And she can't come. You want to come to us, she's going to say nothing.' And that was it," said Albertson

Generosa’s condition continued to decline, but things seemed to be looking up for Pelosi.

"Her first will leaves her entire estate to Danny Pelosi," said Albertson.

Pelosi, at that point, was living large – drinking, gambling, even renovating his ex-wife's house – all while Generosa grew more ill by the day.

Generosa and Pelosi separated in June 2003. Quietly, she changed her will again.

"She modified it to give more of the money to the children as a result of the chaos he put into their lives. She dumped him," says Albertson. "She filed for divorce, and she offered him a $2 million settlement. And she would die within months, and she died a very painful death."

Generosa died at the age of 47 on Aug. 22, 2003 – leaving investigators to wonder if she took secrets with her to the grave.

"Everybody thought that we were going to get the deathbed confession from her. And I tried," said Albertson. "She died right before the indictment was actually brought, having never spoken to us."

Generosa’s death left prosecutors with a difficult task. With no surveillance footage, no murder weapon and no physical evidence to tie Pelosi to the crime scene, they wondered if their case was strong enough for a conviction.

Pelosi was put on trial for the murder of Ammon in September 2004.

Prosecutors believe Ammon's death - and Pelosi’s subsequent marriage to Generosa - were financially motivated.

Albertston called a variety of witnesses to the stand, including Tracy Rebenfeld.

Rebenfeld was Pelosi's ex-lover who testified that Pelosi bragged that he bashed Ammon's brains in while Ammon cried and begged for his life, News 12 previously reported.

Albertson also called Pelosi's father to the stand.

Robert Pelosi also delivered devastating testimony, saying his son asked him how to get rid of something he didn't want found.

John Kundel was also put on the stand.

"John Kundel, the security guy - because he said that 'I installed it.' And one of the only people who knew where this unit was, and where the power source was, was Danny Pelosi," Albertson said.

Albertson also proved that Ammon was hit with a stun gun before he was bludgeoned to death.

"The medical examiner had found a set of marks in a pattern - marks that a stun would leave on the body when it was deployed," said Albertson. "We were able to prove he bought stun guns. We know he bought two, and one was missing."

But the most damning testimony came when Pelosi took the stand, including when he admitted to owning a stun gun and using it on his employees for fun.

Pelosi was found guilty of second-degree murder after almost 24 hours of deliberations. He is serving 25 to life.

He is serving an additional three years for intimidation of a witness and will be eligible for parole in 2028.