SNIPER ‘REGRET’
Ex-CIA asset admits killing ex, faces 18 yrs.
A former government sniper pleaded guilty Thursday to gunning down his former girlfriend on a Manhattan street in a deal that will see him serve at least 18 years for the murder.
Vincent Verdi, 63, a former federal intelligence officer, admitted that he fatally shot his ex in outside Cooper Union on Nov. 1, 2017.
Verdi told a judge he was remorseful for killing Elizabeth Lee-Herman, a woman he met on Match.com
“These words come of a heavy heart,” Verdi said in Manhattan Supreme Court. “On November 1st, 2017, I intentionally caused the death of Elizabeth Lee-Herman by shooting her with a firearm on Astor Place in Manhattan. My sorrow for what I did has no limit, and is also true of my regret for the pain and anguish I have caused to many, many people.
“After decades of serving my country as an Army officer in war zones around the world and comporting myself with honor and discipline, I don’t know how I arrived at this place where I could commit this act, nor how I can ever atone for the damage I have caused.”
After shooting Lee-Herman, Verdi turned the murder weapon on himself in a gory public display. He survived a bullet wound to the head.
Verdi, who did stints on special projects with the CIA and Defense Department in Afghanistan, was charged with murder, weapons possession, aggravated criminal contempt and stalking..
Sources told The News he was a military sniper and was employed by the Drug Enforcement Agency in the 1990s but was fired.
Verdi was previously arrested for obsessively following the victim — even tracking Lee-Herman, 56, to the dentist’s office and to a theater.
Authorities said he stalked her for months at her home, her workplace, and even while she was out on other dates.
The mother of two filed a restraining order against Verdi, and gave his mug shot to security personnel at Grace Church High School on Cooper Square, where she worked as a school secretary.
But Verdi ignored the court order, and confronted Lee-Herman after her daily bike commute from her Upper East Side home.
Lee-Herman was shot in the stomach and chest at point-blank range.