A Massachusetts man has pleaded guilty to trying to pay a contract killer to murder his wife, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
The assassin he thought he was hiring, however, was an undercover federal agent, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.
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Massimo Marenghi, 56, of Malden, pleaded guilty Thursday to a count of murder for hire, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prions, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, prosecutors said. He's set to be sentenced June 8.
Marenghi complained about his wife to a person who later reported the conversation to authorities, authorities said. He was upset that she was seeking a restraining order against him, asked the person for help in killing her.
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After learning about the plot, federal agents decided to set up an operation, directing the person to introduce Marenghi to an undercover agent pretending to be a contract killer.
The agent and Marenghi first met on Jan. 20, 2021, where Marenghi asked for help to “eliminate” the man's problem, showing the agent a photo of his wife and explaining how to bypass cameras at her home, officials said.
At a second meeting, Marenghi allegedly paid $1,500 as a cash deposit for the act, and saying he would provide the rest of a payment once the “demolition job” was finished, authorities said. He also provided her work hours and the “best time for the construction work to start,” according to the release.
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Marenghi was arrested soon afterward.
