A longtime Democratic operative in New Jersey pled guilty Tuesday to a murder-for-hire plot to kill a former state senator’s son.
Sean Caddle and Bomani Africa, one of the men hired by Caddle, both pled guilty to conspiring to commit murder-for-hire, according to the Associated Press (AP).
A political consultant in New Jersey has admitted paying two men to kill a longtime associate in 2014 who worked with him on various campaigns. Prosecutors say Sean Caddle solicited a Connecticut resident to commit murder for thousands of dollars. https://t.co/dWfj2urMx7
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 26, 2022
Caddle allegedly hired George Bratsenis in April 2014 to kill Michael Galdieri, AP reported. Both Bratsenis and Africa allegedly killed Galdieri the following month and set his apartment on fire.
Galdieri and Caddle worked with each other and had been acquaintances for years, AP reported. Officials have not yet released a motive in the murder. (RELATED: Animal Rights Attorney Tried To Hire Ranch Hand To Kill Husband For Having Affair With The Nanny)
Galdieri’s brother Richie Galdieri posted to Facebook about Caddle on Monday.
“I had given up. I thought for sure the day would never come. I had resolved myself to the fact that who ever did this to my brother got away with murder … well … almost 8 years later, at 7am this morning, 3 FBI agents rang my bell … They got ’em, Mike … they got em,” Galdieri’s post reads.
Caddle had previously worked on former Democratic state Sen. Ray Lesniak’s 2013 and 2017 campaigns, AP reported.
“The most bizarre thing I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. No … indication whatsoever,” former Democratic state Sen. Ray Lesniak said, reported AP. “He led a double life. While he was running campaigns for me – a lot of them very successful – he was arranging a murder.”
The presiding judge allowed Caddle to be released on home confinement on a $1 million unsecured bond, according to AP. The government is hoping for a sentence between 12 1/2 and 25 years for Caddle.
“This was a callous and violent crime, and this defendant is as responsible as the two men who wielded the knife,” U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said, according to the outlet.