A former New York City police officer going through a messy divorce decided to take matters into her own hands and hire a hitman to take care of her ex-husband.
Thankfully the plot was thwarted, but investigators had to have two of the men in Valerie Cincinelli's life join forces to bring her to justice. One was the intended target, her estranged husband, Isaiah Carvalho. The other man was her then-boyfriend, John DiRubba.
DiRubba notified police of the plot after Cincinelli put him in charge of hiring a hitman for $7,000, which was converted to gold to make the payment less trackable. He alerted FBI after Cincinelli wanted to add another person to the hit. Not only did she want her ex-husband killed but her boyfriend's 13-year-old daughter as well.
When the FBI learned of the plot, they contacted Carvalho and informed him. He worked with them and with DiRubba to lead Cincinelli to believe the plot was carried out. He was posed in a photo that made it appear he'd been killed in his car, which was admittedly eerie for him.
"It haunts me every day," he told Inside Edition.
Cincinelli appeared tearful and upset as police officers arrived at her Suffolk County home and reported the death. She was unaware that her boyfriend was wearing a hidden camera that captured her change in demeanor after the officers left.
"Delete my [expletive] texts. You're not keeping anything on this [expletive] phone," she barked at her boyfriend. Moments later, the FBI arrived and arrested her.
The murder-for-hire charges against Cincinelli were dropped. In exchange, she pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and was sentenced to 48 months in prison. She was suspended without pay after her arrest and resigned from the NYPD in March 2021.
Carvalho is moving on with his child, but he admits that fear still lingers.
"I look over my shoulder constantly," he said when asked if he's worried that one day, Cincinelli will find someone who will actually carry out her plot.
"Not a day goes by [that] I'm not afraid for my life."
