The following is a true story, although it looks more like a Lifetime Television murder mystery movie.

A New Jersey political consultant (Sean Caddle) has admitted to hiring two hitmen to murder a former campaign ally.

This had been a cold case since May 2014, when Michael Galdieri was stabbed to death.

Galdieri, 52 is the son of a former New Jersey State Senator James Galdieri, D-Jersey City.

The son (Michael Galdieri) was a prominent Hudson County, New Jersey political figure.

Galdieri’s Jersey City apartment was set on fire following his murder, according to United States Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.

Sean Caddle, 44, a former Campaign Manager to former legendary New Jersey State Senator Ray Lesniak (D-Elizabeth) has admitted to paying two killers; one from Connecticut and another from Pennsylvania to murder Galdieri.

This was a callous and violent crime, and this defendant is as responsible as the two men who wielded the knife. There is no more serious crime than the taking of another person’s life. The defendant has admitted arranging and paying for a murder by two other people. His admission of guilt means he will now pay for his crime, said Sellinger.

Sellinger confirmed that Caddle “paid the Connecticut killer thousands of dollars to commit a murder on [his] behalf - then recruited a longtime accomplice from Philadelphia to join the plot,” said Sellinger.

Professional Firefighters discovered Galdieri's body after they put out the flames at Galdieri’s 158 Mallory St. apartment on May 22, 2014.

Galdieri’s murder had remained a mystery since then.

United States District Judge John Michael Vazquez is permitting Caddle to remain free on bail, under strict conditions, including a $1 million unsecured bond, home detention, electronic monitoring device, and travel restrictions.

Caddle’s guilty plea took place in Newark, New Jersey federal court, where Caddle pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder for hire.

"Today’s guilty plea will bring some sense of closure to the victim’s family who have been left to wonder, for nearly eight years, who murdered their loved one,” said  FBI Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr.

“This should serve as a warning to criminals and potential criminals, alike, while you are going about your life, thinking you ‘got away with it,’ the FBI is piecing together the facts that will serve as your undoing,” said Crouch.

Sellinger credited Crouch, along with the special agents who materially assisted in achieving the guilty plea, which was ultimately secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee M. Cortes Jr., Chief of Sellinger’s Health Care Fraud Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Farrell, who serves as the chief of Sellinger’s Cybercrime Unit.

Sellinger also thanked the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office for their working partnership.

The New York Times has written that “Caddle is perhaps the most prominent Democrat political consultant living in Sussex County.”

Over the years, Caddle has worked on numerous local and state races, and has served as a political consultant for the United States Senator Robert Menendez,

IMPORTANT NOTE: Sellinger did not provide the names of the two killers in open court. Their names appear to be included in official prosecutorial documents as potential cooperating witnesses.

SOURCE: United States Attorney Phillip R. Sellinger.

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