Apr 7th, 2008
FBI: NJ official hired hitman to kill wife
A former New Jersey official serving a federal sentence for accepting $30,000 in bribes was charged today with trying to hire a hitman to murder his wife, authorities said.
Richard Kaplan, 58, is a former New Brunswick city construction inspector and zoning officer who is serving a 30-month sentence in Cumberland County after he pleaded guilty last year to taking bribes from contractors.
Kaplan wanted his wife dead because she was divorcing him, said Christopher J. Christie, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey.
Shortly after arriving at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton last spring, Kaplan asked a fellow inmate if he knew anyone who could kill his wife, Christie said.
According to court papers, Kaplan said he would pay up to $30,000 for the slaying, which he wanted to be staged as a car accident.
Last month, during a meeting at the prison with a "hit man" who was actually an undercover FBI agent, Kaplan offered a downpayment of $2,000 and said he would pay the balance when he was out on furlough for his wife’s funeral, Christie said.
Kaplan chose a Boston Market restaurant in New Brunswick as the location where his accountant delivered the first installment.
Kaplan told the unsuspecting accountant that the man he was meeting was a private investigator hired "to check up on her in case I need something on her for my divorce," according to court documents
"If not for an undercover FBI agent stepping into Kaplan’s plot, it’s clear that he intended to carry it out," Christie said. "That makes him an extremely unrepentant felon who has now compounded his troubles."
Tags: hitman, last
7 Responses to “FBI: NJ official hired hitman to kill wife”
…presumably after the war criminal in chief leaves office and no longer has the ability to pardon the bastards.
But now that is just moral convenience.Monsanto had little to do with the problem, aside from exacerbating a problem that was already existent in the region: the poverty and social conditions of cotton farmers in India.If you are to blame them for anything, blame them for taking advantage of poor farmers by selling them an expensive seed, rather than the crop failure for which Monsanto had no hand in.
Exactly what I was thinking.
What role has Monsanto played in all of this?
Oh man. The government happily (kickback?) endorsed the GM strain thats failing. Its hard to imagine that happening at all without the gov being held accountable, but I don’t think the Indian gov will do anything to help. Which makes it all the worse.
Yeah that is great but the government is only doing it because elections will soon be taking place.Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7270361.stm