Husband pleads guilty after unknowingly hiring undercover federal agent to murder his wife

A Massachusetts man who tried to hire a hitman to murder his wife had unknowingly instructed an undercover federal agent to carry out the hit, has been arrested.

Massimo Marenghi, 56, now faces up to 10 years behind bars after pleading guilty Thursday (March 16) to murder-for-hire, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a statement.

The Malden man “complained that his wife was seeking a restraining order against him” during a January 2021 meeting with an undercover FBI agent posing as a hitman, officials said.

Marenghi later met with the undercover officer and asked him to help “clear up” his problem as the couple “discussed a $10,000 price tag,” federal authorities said.

The husband provided the officer with a photograph of his wife’s home and explained how to evade surveillance cameras while carrying out the crime, they said.

When they met again, Marenghi gave the federal agent a $1,500 cash deposit for the murder and urged him to carry out the murder quickly, authorities said.

Marenghi told the agent that the sooner the “demolition work” took place, the sooner the hitman would be able to pay the rest of what he owed, officials said.

As he attempted to plot the murder, Marenghi gave the undercover officer various details about his future ex-wife, authorities said.

He provided a photograph of his wife, the color, model and license plate number of his car, and the hours of his work.

Marenghi also provided a timetable indicating when he would have custody of their children, which he said would be the “best time to start construction work”, authorities said.

In addition to a sentence of up to 10 years, the murder-for-hire charge includes three years of probation and a fine of up to $250,000.

Marenghi is expected to be sentenced on June 8.