A Chicago attorney who allegedly wanted to kill his girlfriend's ex-husband has been arrested after handing over $7,000 to an undercover agent posing as a hit man.
Jason Smiekel, a high-flying 28 year-old partner from Algonquin, had apparently represented the ex-husband in proceedings before becoming involved with his client's ex-wife. Thereafer, things seem to have become really quite nasty. According to a Chicago Tribune report, Smiekel was worried in advance of an upcoming court hearing, believing that the ex-husband had some potentially career-ruining "dirt" on him.
It's still unknown what this mysterious "dirt" might have been, but it was apparently dirty enough for Smiekel to be pretty determined to take him out. According to police charges, he'd already arranged one hit on the ex-husband in February, which failed when the would-be hit men pocketed the $8k fee and fled. Not to be discouraged, Smiekel approached an acquaintance to re-arrange the murder.
Unfortunately for the hapless lawyer - but happily for the ex-husband - the acquaintance went straight to the police. An undercover agent was sent to pose as yet another hit man, willing to do the deed for a $20k fee. Smiekel was busted when he met the agent in a restaurant car park to hand over a $7k payment. He is now facing federal murder-for-hire charges and is on home incarceration at his mother's house.
There seems to be something in the water in the Chicago area: in June a well-thought of female Chicago lawyer was accused of prostitution and of flashing pictures of her lady parts on the interweb.
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Jason Smiekel, a high-flying 28 year-old partner from Algonquin, had apparently represented the ex-husband in proceedings before becoming involved with his client's ex-wife. Thereafer, things seem to have become really quite nasty. According to a Chicago Tribune report, Smiekel was worried in advance of an upcoming court hearing, believing that the ex-husband had some potentially career-ruining "dirt" on him.
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Smiekel in happier times |
It's still unknown what this mysterious "dirt" might have been, but it was apparently dirty enough for Smiekel to be pretty determined to take him out. According to police charges, he'd already arranged one hit on the ex-husband in February, which failed when the would-be hit men pocketed the $8k fee and fled. Not to be discouraged, Smiekel approached an acquaintance to re-arrange the murder.
Unfortunately for the hapless lawyer - but happily for the ex-husband - the acquaintance went straight to the police. An undercover agent was sent to pose as yet another hit man, willing to do the deed for a $20k fee. Smiekel was busted when he met the agent in a restaurant car park to hand over a $7k payment. He is now facing federal murder-for-hire charges and is on home incarceration at his mother's house.
There seems to be something in the water in the Chicago area: in June a well-thought of female Chicago lawyer was accused of prostitution and of flashing pictures of her lady parts on the interweb.