| TRENTON
- Attorney General Stuart Rabner and Division
of Criminal Justice Director Gregory A.
Paw announced that a former state employee
who attempted to hire an undercover state
trooper as a “hitman” to kill
her ex-husband has been convicted of attempted
murder and conspiracy, both in the first
degree.
Diane
M. Oakley, 49, of Cream Ridge, was convicted
following a five-day jury trial in Superior
Court in Monmouth County. Superior Court
Judge Paul Chaiet immediately raised Oakley’s
bail to $1 million, and she remains in custody.
The
Division of Criminal Justice was represented
at trial by Deputy Attorney General Christine
D’Elia of the Organized Crime &
Racketeering Bureau. First-degree crimes
carry a sentence of up to 20 years in state
prison, and Oakley will be required to serve
85 percent of her sentence without parole
under the No Early Release Act. She is scheduled
for sentencing on Jan. 26.
Oakley
was employed as a telecommunications systems
analyst in the Office of the State Judiciary
in 2004 when she solicited various individuals
for help in locating a “hitman”
to kill her ex-husband, John Oakley, formerly
of Cream Ridge. Oakley initially contacted
an acquaintance seeking assistance in locating
someone to kill her ex-husband. The acquaintance
reported the solicitation to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, which referred
the investigation to the New Jersey State
Police.
On
Nov. 2, 2004, an undercover State Police
detective met with Oakley near her Monmouth
County residence to discuss the “contract.”
Oakley reiterated her request to have her
ex-husband killed and provided $1,000 cash
as a down payment for the murder along with
photographs of the intended victim. Oakley
agreed to pay the undercover detective $25,000
within three weeks of the completed murder
from the proceeds of a $100,000 life insurance
policy. Oakley was arrested on Nov. 16,
2004, as she departed her Cream Ridge residence.
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