A New Jersey-based political consultant today admitted hiring two men to kill a longtime associate who had worked for him on various political campaigns.
Sean Caddle, 44, of Hamburg, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit murder for hire. Judge Vazquez allowed Caddle to remain out on $1 million unsecured bond, home detention with electronic monitoring and travel restrictions.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In April of 2014, Caddle solicited one of his conspirators (identified as “CC-1”), a Connecticut resident, to commit a murder on Caddle’s behalf in exchange for thousands of dollars. CC-1 then recruited a longtime accomplice from Philadelphia (identified as “CC-2”), to join the plot.
On May 22, 2014, CC-1 and CC-2 traveled from out of state to the victim’s apartment in Jersey City. After entering the apartment, CC-1 and CC-2 stabbed the victim to death and then CC-1 set fire to the victim’s apartment.
After Caddle learned the following day that the victim had been murdered, he met CC-1 in the parking lot of a diner in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Caddle paid CC-1 thousands of dollars in exchange for the murder, and CC-1 shared a portion of those proceeds with CC-2.
Caddle faces a maximum potential penalty of life imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for June 7, 2022.