A guard at a Brooklyn federal prison was arrested on Friday for allegedly hiring a hitman to violently assault his wife and her new boyfriend.
According to court papers, George Gonzalez, a 53-year-old corrections officer at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park, attempted to hire someone to travel to Florida and assault the couple. Instead of a hitman, however, Gonzalez unwittingly hired an undercover officer.
The Daily News reports that on December 20th, Gonzalez called someone to see how much it would cost to "do a job" in Florida. The Staten Island Advance reports that the supposed hitman instructed Gonzalez to meet with an "associate," who was also an undercover officer, on December 23rd. Gonzalez allegedly provided the second officer with photographs of and information on his wife and her boyfriend.
Gonzalez didn't want the man to kill the couple—instead, he wanted them "beaten, maimed, and paralyzed," court papers say. Gonzalez allegedly told the undercover officer that he wanted his ex-wife and her new boyfriend to "suffer... for the rest of their lives." He allegedly suggested that the hitman use a "hammer to the spine."
On January 4th, Gonzalez agreed to pay $400 for the undercover cops to get a gun and travel to Florida, and to get information on his ex-wife's relative, who the officer could rob as payment.
"It should look like a robbery," Gonzalez allegedly told the undercover cop. According to the Post, Gonzalez told the faux hitman that he was welcome to steal anything he wanted from the couple's home in Florida as partial payment. A law enforcement source told the Post that Gonzalez's ex-wife was dating a former friend of his, and Gonzalez had been "driven 'crazy'" by the betrayal.
According to the News, Gonzalez has an active Staten Island family court case with his ex-wife, as well as an order of protection that expires on January 26th. He allegedly wanted the undercover to travel to Florida after his court date, court records show. In court, prosecutor Artie McConnel reportedly described Gonzalez's charges as "graphic and egregious" because of his and his ex-wife's "long and sad domestic violence pattern."
Gonzalez's three daughters were reportedly present at his arraignment in Brooklyn Federal Court on Friday. Gonzalez is being held without bail.
