| 04/07/07 |
| ---------------- Hit Man Joke Not Funny -------------------
CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio - An Ohio man convicted of trying to hire a hit man to kill his wife claimed the deal was a joke to impress a motorcycle gang he was trying to join. Brian Ciraco, who previously spent more than seven years in jail when he cut a girlfriend's hand with a sword, was convicted Monday of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder and complicity to attempted aggravated murder, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported Tuesday. The jury also found Ciraco guilty of carrying a concealed weapon after police found a switchblade in his possession during the arrest. A spokes- woman for prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh said Ciraco had been shopping around for hit men and comparing prices when he approached an undercover Cuyahoga Falls detective and made a $60 down payment on his wife's death. He testified in court that he never intended to go through with the act; instead he just wanted to hire the hit man so he would be allowed to join a motorcycle gang. Ciraco is scheduled for sentencing April 30. He could be sentenced to 20 years in prison. |