NJ Man, 69, Sentenced In Hitman Plot To Kill Ex-Wife, Daughter

MONROE, NJ – A Middlesex County man was sentenced to over eight years in prison for planning to pay an alleged hitman to kill his ex-wife and her daughter, federal officials said.

Michael Stewart, 69, of Monroe Township, previously pleaded guilty to one count of the use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of a murder for hire, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said in a statement.

Stewart and a confidential source discussed the murder plot in the summer of 2021, with Stewart indicating he would pay for the hit and asking the source to find a hitman, according to documents filed in the case and statements made in court.

In October 2021, Stewart met with a federal agent posing as a hitman; Stewart then told the agent he wanted the ex-wife’s daughter killed first, followed by the ex-wife, federal officials said.

Stewart also told the agent he would pay for the killings and included a photo, names, addresses, layout of the victims’ property and types of cars used by the would-be victims, federal officials said. $500 was given to the agent as an up-front partial payment.

Stewart was also sentenced to three years of supervised release in addition to the prison term.

Sellinger thanked special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to the sentencing.