A Philadelphia man was found guilty in a plot to kill multiple New Jersey government officials who were involved in his 2014 arson conviction, according to Attorney General Matthew Platkin.<\/p>\n
Stephen Smink, 62, of Philadelphia, was convicted of conspiring to murder Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae, First Assistant Prosecutor Harold Shapiro, two Superior Court judges and an assistant prosecutor between January 2018 and December 2020, according to Platkin’s office.<\/p>\n
Smink, a former South Jersey bowling alley owner, was previously sentenced to 15 years in state prison for orchestrating the plan to burn down a rival bowling alley with the help of two Philadelphia accomplices who pleaded guilty to starting that fire.<\/p>\n
While serving his sentence at Northern State Prison in Newark in April 2019, the Office of Homeland Security notified state police that Smink had hired a cooperating witness in 2017 and 2018 to help carry out a murder-for-hire plot, Platkin’s office said.<\/p>\n
The attorney general said investigators discovered he initially hired a member of the Latin Kings gang, who was also imprisoned, to execute the killings. That individual died before being able to take action.<\/p>\n
Smink then turned to the cooperating witness to help find a hitman, Platkin’s office said. He planned to use sports memorabilia as payment and directed his mother to send letters on his behalf to further the scheme, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n
In a meeting with an undercover officer, Smink allegedly said,” If everybody was together, wipe the whole place out and kill everybody, it just looks like somebody making an assault, a gang’s meeting. If somebody shot up the place, it looks like the gang getting retribution.”<\/p>\n
On Aug. 15, Smink was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit murder, five counts of attempted murder, all in the first degree, and conspiracy to transport weapons.<\/p>\n
“This defendant planned to kill public servants for doing their jobs and putting him behind bars for crimes he previously committed,” Platkin said in a news release. “State Police and prison officials found out about his plan and interceded before anyone was harmed. He now faces a lengthy prison sentence for his violent scheme.”<\/p>\n
Smink now faces 30 years to life in prison and must serve at least 30 years before being eligible for parole. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 26.<\/p>\n