A convict accused of seeking revenge on the federal judge and lawyer who landed him in prison by having them decapitated was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday.
Joseph Romano appeared in a New York federal court this week in which he pleaded guilty to plotting the murders of U.S. District Judge Joseph Bianco and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Gatz.
Romano was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his phony business selling valuable coins in Long Island in 2012. While in jail, Romano reportedly disclosed to a confidential informant his plans to take a hit out on the duo, then have their heads preserved in formaldehyde as souvenirs, Reuters reported.
Romano also had plans to put Gatz's chest in the vinegar as well, as part of the "sickening twist" described to jurors on Thursday.
Prosecutor Una Dean told the court that Romano "was furious" over the guilty verdict at the time of his conviction.
"So what did he do?" Dean asked. "He turned to violence, gruesome...violence."
A friend helped Romano assemble the plan.
Dejvid Mirkovic, who functioned as a middle man between Romano and the undercover official who feigned being a hitman, received 24 years in prison in August, after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder a government employee.
Romano, who confessed to his murder scheme, sat stoically through the trial, clad in a blue cardigan and white shirt, Reuters reported.
The New York resident currently faces two counts of conspiring to murder a government employee and life in prison, if he's found guilty.
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