Culver City Businessman Allegedly Ordered 'Hit' On Ex-Business Associate

CULVER CITY, CA — A Culver City businessman was accused of ordering a murder of a former business associate, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Homeland Security investigators in New Orleans were listening to a phone call by a suspected Los Angeles drug smuggler when they heard the suspected drug dealer said he was asked to carry out a "hit" on someone, according to The Los Angeles Times.

That conversation sparked an investigation spanning from New Orleans to Los Angeles to San Diego that led up to the arrest of David Phillips, the CEO of NKP Medical Marketing, in April, The Times reported. Phillips, 36, was accused of trying to set up a $30,000 hit on his former business associate.

Phillips has pleaded not guilty last Thursday to the charge in New Orleans. The case in being tried in Louisiana because the murder-for-hire plot was first discovered there, according to The Times.

For more on this story, visit The Los Angeles Times.