A former New York City police officer accused in the murder-for-hire plot was sentenced to four years in prison Friday, according to court records.
Valerie Cincinelli, 37, has been in custody since her arrest in May 2019 and will be credited with sentencing for the nearly 30 months she served. Her lawyer, James Kosoros, said she “would be eligible for release within months.”
Cincinelli was accused of trying to kill her estranged husband and her teenage boyfriend’s daughter, but the alleged killer was actually an undercover FBI agent, officials said.
She was an NYPD officer at the time, and was fired after her arrest.
Cincinelli pleaded guilty In one count of obstruction of justice in April related to obstructing a federal jury investigation by deleting phone records. She was also charged with murder-for-hire charges, which were dismissed as part of a plea deal.
Kosoris said Friday night he was pleased with the ruling. He said Cincinelli could be eligible for home confinement within five months.
“On her release, she hopes to be reunited with her family and to rebuild the productive life she has always led,” Kossaurus said in an email.
In court documents, prosecutors said Cincinelli was hiding “deep jealousy and resentment” of her boyfriend’s daughter, and alleged that she tried to persuade her boyfriend to hire a hitman. Her boyfriend went to the FBI.
Kosoros argued in the sentencing memorandum that Cincinelli did not actually want to kill anyone, and claimed in court documents that in the recorded conversations she was only a “venting” of her frustration.
Prosecutors sought a total sentence of five years. They wrote in the sentencing note that she “was not a vent – she was plotting,” and they’ve been doing so for months.
