A church leader was arrested on December 19 in Queens, New York, for allegedly plotting to kill his wife to get the $1 million she was insured for, the police said.
Santhosh Paul, 31, allegedly asked his friend to kill his wife, Tina Paul, 30. The friend refused and tipped off the police, who sent in an undercover officer posing as a killer for hire.
Tina Paul still believes her husband is innocent but Kathleen Rice, Nassau County district attorney, and the police said they have no doubts.
"We have plenty of evidence, including conversations taped in video," Eric Philips, a spokesperson of the DA's office told rediff.com.
"We got information about the plot three weeks ago and we moved quickly," he said.
Paul wanted Tina to die by December 21 so that he would get time to mourn before Christmas, according to the district attorney, who said that Paul met the 'assassin' three times, also bringing his three-year-old son along for two of them. He instructed the undercover policeman to stab his wife in the heart while she visited Manhattan December 21, the district attorney said.
Paul also gave him $2,700 in cash as a down payment and also gave him a copy of his wife's $1-million life insurance policy on which he was the sole beneficiary.
Paul also provided a photo of his wife, the license plate number of her car, her schedule and her business card, the official said.
Paul was arrested in a McDonald's parking lot in Uniondale on the night of December 19 after his third meeting with the undercover cop. The police had moved in early to pre-empt him harming his wife earlier, the district attorney said.
Paul, who has a mortgage insurance business, is still in custody. No bail is set. "If convicted, he could receive 25 years in jail," Philips said.
Paul was the treasurer and president of the Pentecostal Youth Fellowship of America.
The church members said the whole incident was unbelievable.
The news did not reflect what he knew of Paul, said Johnson Samuel. Samuel has known Paul for five years.
Paul and his wife moved into a two-story home on Cliff Street in North Bellmore a month ago. Tina Paul did not know her husband had been arrested December 19 and filed a missing person complaint the next day.
Paul's family and Tina came to the court to see Paul. The family members say they were in the dark about the alleged conspiracy. His mother, Gracey Paul, of East Meadow, said she was not aware of any problems between the Paul and his wife.
Tina told the media: 'I don't believe anything they say because I believe my husband. I feel they were setting him up. I know him -- he would never, ever do something like that. I would be alone with him right now. But he's definitely not in his right senses right now.'
A friend of the family said Tina was still in shock, saying, 'She just doesn't believe it. That's how good a wife she is. She's a lovely woman.'
Though Long Island attorney Paul Brill was described as Paul's attorney, Brill told rediff.com he does not represent Paul any more.