A former NYPD cop, accused of targeting her estranged husband and her boyfriend’s teenage daughter in a horrific plot-for-hire murder, has been sentenced to four years in prison.
Valerie Cincinelli, who quit her job on the force, expressed remorse in Manhattan federal court before being found guilty of obstruction of justice as part of a plea deal for the alleged scheme in 2019.
“I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I was wrong. I accept responsibility,” Cincinelli, who was wearing a brown suit, told the court.
During the hearing, Cincinelli and her attorney, James Kosoros, argued that her boyfriend, John Deruba, was a fraud who convinced her to participate in the plot that allegedly paid him $7,000 to hire a hitman.
She claimed that she believed Deruba would have hired the hitman to assassinate her estranged husband Isaiah Carvalho Jr. and Deru’s 15-year-old daughter.
But she emphasized that she never expected the blow to actually happen.
“I did what I know I should have done. I was deeply and deeply hurt at the time. I destroyed, your honor. I lost so much in the process,” she said.
De Ropa confessed to a bizarre pay-murder plot and began working as a classified FBI source, claiming that his policewoman girlfriend wanted to kill her husband amid a bitter divorce and custody battle.
Cincinelli was arrested in May 2019 and struck a deal earlier this year that dropped two charges of murder for pay against her.
Her estranged husband Carvalho criticized the deal, calling it a “free pass”.
“When I heard the call I was furious. I thought she got a free pass. I really think she would find someone to finish the job [when she gets out]Carvalho told the court.
Carvalho asked the judge to issue the maximum sentence, arguing that his ex-wife was a “narcissistic sociopath” and a “master manipulator.”
He said that when they first married, Valerie was “a fun-loving person who devoted her life to protecting people.”
As their relationship continued, he said he “saw another side that was her true self.”
“A cruel, selfish person. She became verbally and physically abusive. He said the only thing that cared about her was material things and material needs.
Prosecutors cited videos and audio tapes in which Cincinelli appeared “frustrated that the murders were not yet completed” and appeared as “someone who only cares about herself.”
“It became even more reprehensible because she was a police officer,” Assistant US Attorney Catherine Mirabelle said.
In sentencing, US District Judge Joanna Seibert said she agreed with prosecutors that the ex-officer “orchestrated” the murder-for-hire.
“Multiple sclerosis. Sencinelli, with all the love you have from your family, it shocked me that you still played the victim,” Siebert said.
Seibert noted that the other defendants are usually from broken homes, drug addicts, and other troubled circumstances.
“You got a very good salary. You don’t have an addiction,” Seibert said.
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