(Photo : Photo by DOMINICK REUTER / AFP via Getty Images)
Police officers inspect the crime scene at the Roebling Market on June 17, 2018, the morning after a shooting at an all-night art festival injured 20 people and left one suspect dead in Trenton, New Jersey.
A former New Jersey political consultant named Sean Caddle just pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit a murder-for-hire plot almost nine years ago.
According to reports, Caddle was working for New Jersey state Sen. Ray Lesniak during his 2013 and 2017 campaigns when he plotted a murder-for-hire scheme targeting Michael Galdieri.
Sean Caddle's murder for hire plot revealed
Caddle sought the help of Bomani Africa and George Bratsenis to kill Galdieri at his apartment in exchange for thousands of dollars.
Africa and Bratsenis accepted the job, and they were responsible for killing Galdieri via stabbing, and they also set his apartment on fire.
A day after Galdieri's murder, Caddle met with the first co-conspirator in a parking lot in Elizabeth. While there, he gave the co-conspirator thousands of dollars as payment. The first co-conspirator then shared the money with the second co-conspirator, according to NBC News.
Following his death, authorities revealed that Galdieri sustained multiple stab wounds. They also said that the murderers started a fire to try and cover up the victim's murder.
On Wednesday, Africa also pleaded guilty to killing Galdieri. He is currently being held at a Rhode Island federal detention center after pleading guilty to an armed bank robbery in Connecticut in 2014.
Caddle, on the other hand, is out on a $1 million unsecured bond. He is also awaiting his sentencing.
Sean Caddle's former boss speaks out
Following his confession, Caddle's former boss released a statement expressing his shock over what he had just heard about his ex-employee.
"The most bizarre thing I've ever experienced in my entire life. He led a double life. While he was running campaigns for me - a lot of them very successful - he was arranging a murder," Lesniak said via the New York Post.
US Attorney Philip R. Sellinger also released a statement saying that what Caddle did was a callous and violent crime. He also said that there's no more serious crime than taking another person's life.
"The defendant has admitted arranging and paying for murder by two other people. His admission of guilt means he will now pay for his crime," Sellinger said via People.
Caddle faces a maximum potential penalty of life imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. His sentencing is scheduled for June 7.
New Jersey woman freed after seven years in prison
Galdieri's murder is not an isolated case in New Jersey. Last month, a New Jersey mom Michelle Lodzinski's murder conviction was vacated by the Supreme Court due to a lack of substantial evidence.
Lodzinski was charged with the murder of his son 23 years after he first vanished. Her then 5-year-old son, Timothy, went missing at a carnival, and his remains were found a year later.
Her attorney, Gerald Krovatin, said that they are thrilled with the Supreme Court's decision and believe that they got it right.
Krovatin also said that his client didn't expect to be free after being in prison for seven years. So, when she found out she just broke down and cried. The woman was released from prison ahead of the New Year, according to CNN.
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