TRENTON
- Attorney General Stuart Rabner and Division
of Criminal Justice Director Gregory A.
Paw announced today that a Middlesex County
woman has been indicted by a state grand
jury for allegedly conspiring with another
individual to hire a hitman to kill her
husband.
The “hitman”
was actually an undercover state trooper,
and the woman’s alleged co-conspirator
has pleaded guilty for his part in the plot,
said Director Paw.
According to Paw, the state
grand jury indicted Christine Palumbo, 46,
of Sayreville, late yesterday on first-degree
charges of attempted murder and criminal
conspiracy.
The indictment alleges that
from May 28 through June 5, 2003, Palumbo
conspired with Joseph Cheeka, 28, of Roselle
Park, to hire an undercover State Police
detective to kill her husband, Vincent Palumbo.
Cheeka pleaded guilty in January 2004 to
second-degree conspiracy and was sentenced
to five years in state prison by Superior
Court Judge John F. Malone in Union County.
In pleading guilty, Cheeka
admitted that he spoke to and met with the
undercover detective several times between
May 28 and June 5, 2003, believing him to
be a contract killer, in order to arrange
for the murder of Vincent Palumbo. Cheeka
admitted that he provided the undercover
detective with personal information about
Vincent Palumbo as well as $2,500, representing
half of the demanded price for the murder.
The indictment returned today alleges that
Christine Palumbo conspired with Cheeka
in the plot to have her husband killed.
The
indictment was handed up to Superior Court
Judge Linda R. Feinberg in Mercer County.
The case was assigned to Union County, where
Christine Palumbo will be ordered to appear
at a later date for arraignment. She was
arrested on June 5, 2003, but was released
after posting $250,000 bail. The indictment
is merely an accusation and the defendant
is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The investigation was conducted by the State
Police North Organized Crime/Narcotics Unit.
The case was presented to the state grand
jury by Deputy Attorney General Christopher
Romanyshyn of the Division of Criminal Justice
- Organized Crime & Racketeering Bureau.
>>
Palumbo
Indictment (84k pdf) plug-in
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