A 56-year-old Malden man indicted by a federal grand jury in February of last year on one count of murder-for-hire has pleaded guilty.
“You want to get rid of her?” an undercover federal agent asked Massimo Marenghi during a meeting on Jan. 20, 2021. Marenghi had approached the agent, who he believed to be a hitman, with a “situation” — his wife — that needs to be “taken care of,” according to an affidavit filed in the case.
Marenghi pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Boston to the charge. U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled sentencing, which can be up to 10 years in prison, for June 8.
Marenghi first met up with somebody on Jan. 1, 2021, complaining that his wife was seeking a restraining order against him. The person told law enforcement, who then directed the person to connect Marenghi with an agent pretending to be a contract killer.
In the Jan. 20 meeting, the pair hashed out the details, with the agent saying he can “make it look like an accident … it is your call,” to which Marenghi said “obviously that’s the best way.” They discussed a price of $10,000, according to an affidavit, to which Marenghi said that he needed to “free up some assets” to afford. He also provided a photo of his soon-to-be ex-wife’s house, with instructions on how to hide from cameras.
He went on, nine days later, to make a $1,500 cash deposit and said that the sooner the “demolition job” was done, the sooner he’d pay off the money.
That’s a grand entrance
Boston Police arrested two men they say stole a vehicle by shattering the glass front door of a Hyde Park auto service business in the 600-block of Cummins Highway and then driving it straight through the chain security fence around the property.
Jonathan Osorio, 27, of Hyde Park and Alvin Mojica, 29, of Roslindale, were arrested at around 10:35 a.m. Thursday. At that time, officers on patrol saw the stolen vehicle in the 700 block of River Street and pulled it over for having “improper plates attached,” according to a police statement.
Osorio was the alleged driver and police say he “immediately became combative but was placed in custody after a brief struggle.” The only passenger was Mojica, cops say, who was compliant but had a taser in a fanny pack across his chest.
Teens in a hurry
State Police arrested three of the five teenagers — only one was an adult, Hildo Pina-Vaz, 18, of Roxbury — who were piled into a 2012 Toyota Rav4 the police said led them on a chase in the early hours of Saturday morning.
A trooper saw the SUV driving by on Route 24 North in Avon and noticed it had no rear license plate or bumper so attempted to pull the vehicle over, but the driver refused and sped away, according to a Massachusetts State Police Statement.
After the initial trooper called in the pursuit, another trooper came out ahead of the suspect vehicle and set up a a “tire deflation” device, which popped the SUV’s driver’s side tires — and yet the teen driver persisted, police say.
The pursuit continued onto Interstate 93 south and onto exit 3 into Milton, first on Blue Hill River Road then onto Trout Brook Avenue, where it finally stopped and five teens “bailed out” and were arrested. They were each charged with motor vehicle offenses, malicious destruction of property and disturbing the peace.
A search that included K9 units could not locate the last two passengers.
