NYPD Officer's Ex-Husband: FBI Had Me Fake My Own Death After Learning Of Murder-For-Hire Plot
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – The estranged husband of a New York City police officer - accused of trying to have him killed - says federal authorities told him to fake his own death after learning of the cop's plot.
Isaiah Carvalho Jr. spoke about the ordeal in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America."
As part of a sting operation, Carvalho said authorities had him sit in his car and appear to have been attacked in his driver's seat. Agents then put glass on the floor and all over Officer Valerie Cincinelli's ex-husband as he played dead.
MORE: NYPD Officer Accused Of Murder-For-Hire Plot Targeting Her Ex-Husband And A Child
Posing as the hit man paid to carry out the murder, investigators texted a picture of the supposed crime scene to Cincinelli.
According to the criminal complaint, Cincinelli had been plotting the murder-for-hire since February, but Carvalho knew nothing about it until the FBI showed up at his house Friday.
Carvalho called the incident "absolutely insane" and had one simple question for his estranged wife – why?
"I was shocked. I was taken back by the whole thing. I didn't know how to react," Carvalho said. "I didn't want to believe it, but apparently it's true."
His disbelief was on overload when investigators asked him to stage his own murder.
"They ended up taking me to an undisclosed location and had me fake my death… took pictures of it… They had me sit in my car. They put glass on the floor and all over me and had me hunch over into the passenger seat."
Court papers reveal Cincinelli recruited her current boyfriend to hire a hitman for $7,000. The alleged plan was also targeting her boyfriend's 15-year-old daughter.
That's when the boyfriend turned on her, going to police to become a confidential informant. The complaint detailed how the boyfriend secretly recorded incriminating conversations with the police officer, including plans for her alibi.
"The craziest thing I ever had to experience in my whole life," Carvalho said.
Cincinelli, an NYPD officer since 2007, was arrested on federal murder-for-hire charges. Her family insists she is innocent.
Cincinelli was a highly respected cop. Once praised for her in role in stopping a Queens bank robbery.
