Dec 4, 2008 6:42 pm US/Central
Feds: Businessman Tried To Have Partner Killed
CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) ―
A northwest suburban man has been charged with trying to arrange the murder of his business partner and saying he could get a gun from the Ku Klux Klan to do the job.
Robert Mandel, 62, was arrested Thursday morning at his home in Des Plaines. He appeared in federal court and was ordered held without bond until his next hearing Dec. 10.
Mandel's company is G & D Excavating in Lyons, authorities said. He met a former employee on Aug. 20 and said he knew someone who wanted to have his business partner killed, according to the FBI.
Mandel allegedly asked the ex-employee if he could find someone to do the job. The former employee, a convicted car thief, contacted Chicago Police, who then called the FBI.
On Aug. 28, the former employee, who had decided to cooperate with the FBI, recorded a meeting with Mandel, who said he could get a gun from the "Klan," meaning the KKKK in Indiana, according to the FBI.
Mandel allegedly told his former employee he wanted his partner killed early in the morning to avoid police or neighbors. He wanted the assassin to kill the partner in his yard because children might be in his home, according to the FBI.
The former employee allegedly told Mandel he wanted $1,000 and would pay the killer $5,000 to do the job.
But later, the plan hit a snag when Mandel allegedly said he could not get the money from the people who wanted the partner killed. The ex-employee responded by trying to renegotiate the hit job for $2,500.
Mandel responded he might pay for the killing himself, because he would then own all of the company, authorities said. He and the partner had been in business together for about three years.
Mandel said he also might supply the ex-employee with equipment from G&D in exchange for the killing, the FBI said.
On Nov. 25, the ex-employee met with Mandel, who allegedly said his ex-partner should be shot while in his car. They spoke once more on Nov. 30 when Mandel allegedly told the ex-employee to keep him informed about the murder plans, authorities said.
Neither the business partner nor the ex-employee was identified in the federal criminal complaint released Thursday. The FBI also did not say where the partner lives.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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