Criminal Conduct of the Worst Sort

Both business partners had former drug trafficking convictions. They had been associated for over twenty years. Both should have been skeptical that a new business idea in which they agreed to become partners might be unsuccessful. They formed the partnership.

The business? These two U.S. citizens agreed to start a gambling venture in Central Africa. One mortgaged his property to raise his portion of the seed money.

Three years into the get-rich-quick scheme, the whole thing failed, and all lost their money.

The man who’d mortgaged his property lost his property and demanded that the partner pay him back for his portion of the investment. The partner began making small monthly payments to the man making demands. It wasn’t long before the nominal monthly payments weren’t enough, so he accelerated a harassment campaign.

Even though the ex-partner ultimately returned the full amount of seed money to the man who’d mortgaged his property, it still wasn’t enough. Through a relentless bombardment of phone calls and emails, he demanded more money from his ex-partner.

He was relentless—he hacked into the man’s email account and computer, tracked down his whereabouts in a foreign country, and threatened him at gunpoint. Then his tactics to extort money from the once partner and associate took a dark turn. The man tried to recruit someone to extort money and then murder the ex-partner. Unfortunately for him, the authorities arrested the man on unrelated charges before he could do his dastardly deeds.

The next ex-con chosen to head the extortion and murder plot warned the ex-partner about what was in the works. The two of them sought advice from an attorney who suggested that the ‘hired murderer’ record conversations with the vindictive man then turn the recordings in to the authorities. So, he did.

Next, the ‘hired murderer,’ at the FBI’s direction, introduced an undercover cop to the man who wanted to hire someone to take out his ex-friend. He was open to the new guy doing the job for him.

Nine years after they two men went into business together, he was giving the new hitman instructions: take the family on a boat hundreds of miles offshore, do terrible things to the wife and daughter and make the man and his son watch, get money transferred then kill them. The FBI could not yet build a case because the ‘hitman’ hadn’t received any money.

Another year passed. A different agent posing as a hitman contacted the man harboring a serious grudge. He simply said he’d heard he was looking for someone to fix a problem. Surprisingly, the man said he was working with someone else. The casual discussion of hiring a murderer like normal people hire a decorator makes me speechless.

Two months went by. The FBI agent called the man again and asked if he’d taken care of his problem or was he still looking for help. The man took the bait. It had been ten years since the business partnership had begun, seven years since the venture failed, four years since the partner paid back all the investment money to the man, and yet he still sought revenge.

He gave the hitman a deposit for his services, which gave the FBI all they needed to arrest him. He went to trial. They found him guilty of all the charges.

A prosecutor associated with the case said in a sentencing brief,

“The defendant engaged in criminal conduct of the worst sort.”

The judge sentenced him to six years in prison. But wait, there’s more….

His attorney filed an appeal (as all do), and the appeal court determined that the sentencing calculation was incorrect. They re-sentenced the 56-year-old man to twelve years in prison.

Source: U.S. Court of Appeals, FBI, FindLaw

All data and information provided is for information and research purposes only and not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual. Criminal cases may have been appealed or verdicts overturned since I researched the case. All information is provided on an as-is basis.