Ex-escort sentenced for murder plot
Woman solicited hit man to kill newlywed husband
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A former Florida escort convicted of trying to hire a hit man to murder her newlywed husband was sentenced Friday to 16 years in prison, perhaps ending a drawn-out case that drew notice for its startling videos and salacious characters.
Circuit Judge Glenn Kelley imposed the sentence on Dalia Dippolito, who was convicted last month of solicitation of first-degree murder. She was recorded on video and audio in 2009 as she plotted to have Michael Dippolito killed, telling an undercover detective she was “5,000 percent sure” she wanted her husband dead.
Kelley said Dippolito acted in a “cold and calculated manner.”
“This particular crime was committed not in an unsophisticated way, but in a sophisticated way in a calculated fashion,” Kelley said. “There was a plan put in place by Dalia Dippolito to kill Mike Dippolito.” He said the evidence showed that Dalia Dippolito may have been manipulating two other men in her effort to kill her husband.
Neither Dippolito nor her family showed any reaction when the sentence was handed down.
A 2011 conviction and 20-year sentence had been thrown out on appeal. A retrial last fall ended with a 3-3 hung jury. This time, it took the six-member jury 90 minutes to convict Dippolito, 34, who had a child last year while under house arrest.
Prosecutors believe she wanted control of the couple’s town house and her husband’s savings. The case gained national attention when Boynton Beach police video from the investigation went viral on the internet and was featured on the TV shows “Cops” and “20/20.”
Boynton Beach’s cooperation with “Cops” had been a key part of the defense, as Dippolito’s attorneys argued detectives manipulated her and their investigation to play to the cameras. Kelley said that while “theater” should not be part of law enforcement and the investigation wasn’t perfect, he believes the detectives saved Michael Dippolito’s life.
“The evidence supports that Miss Dippolito wanted him killed,” Kelley said. While prosecutors argued for a 30-year sentence, Kelley said he agreed with the previous judge’s sentence but gave her four years credit for the eight years she spent on house arrest.
Michael Dippolito, a convicted conman, testified Friday that his wife’s actions ruined his life. He said her unsubstantiated claims of spousal abuse as the reason for her actions still haunt him.