A former New York City police officer from Long Island was sentenced Friday to 48 months in federal prison after authorities said she tried to hire a hitman to kill her ex-husband and boyfriend’s teenage daughter.
U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert sentenced Valerie Cincinelli at Central Islip federal court after Cincinelli, who is from Oceanside, pleaded guilty in April to obstruction of justice.
In exchange for the guilty plea and admitting that she “deleted images on iPhones” and participated in misconduct that interfered with the investigation, prosecutors agreed to drop two murder for hire charges against Cincinelli, who was held without bail since her arrest in May 2019.
Cincinelli allegedly asked an informant to hire a hit man for the two murders in February 2019 and the informant tipped off the FBI, authorities said. An agent then posed as the hit man, contacting Cincinelli under the guise of having murdered her ex by texting her a photo of what appeared to be the crime scene, according to investigators.
Cincinelli allegedly paid the informant $7,000 for the pair of murders, but the informant later told her that the “hit man” wanted another $3,000 to go through with it, authorities said. The FBI used wiretaps as a part of the investigation, recording the suspect discussing her alibi with the informant as well as her directions for the alleged hit.
