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Georgios Spyropoulos, 45, planned to have his uncle tortured, robbed and killed for a large amount of money he believed he kept in a safe, state authorities said today.
“Fortunately, the State Police were able to completely ensnare him in his own diabolical trap,” State Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa said, during a news conference at the State Police Troop B headquarters in Totowa.
Alexandros Sgourdos, who manages the family’s 8th Avenue diner in Manhattan and co-owns both eateries, was the target of the “ruthless plot,” he said.
The object was to get his uncle to give up the combination to a safe where Spyropoulos believed a large amount of money would be found — even if it meant torturing him, Chiesa said.
Once that was done, he said, Spyropoulos wanted his uncle killed and his body disposed of so that people would think he went missing.
Detectives learned through a confidential informant that Spyropoulos was looking for someone to kill Sgourdos for him, said Col. Rick Fuentes, the NJSP superintendent. The C.I. was then able to introduce an undercover trooper to play the part of a would-be assassin, he said.
A little over a week ago, Spyropoulos gave the trooper an unregistered handgun, along with a photo of the target, the uncle’s address, and a $3,000 down payment — with at least another $20,000 to follow, the colonel said.
“Spyropoulos made a deal with the wrong hit man, and we were thankfully able to save a life,” Fuentes said. “I’m very proud of the professional work of all those involved.”
The usual lunchtime crowd had packed the landmark diner when Spyropoulos was arrested there yesterday by detectives from the NJSP’s Violent and Organized Crime North Bureau,he said. The investigators reported finding four weapons in his Clifton home, including two semiautomatic handguns, along with six cell phones and several thousand dollars in cash in his Mercedes.
Spyropoulos is charged with conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder and weapons possession. He was being held on $1 million bail in the Passaic County Jail pending a court appearance.
Fuentes noted that the investigation was led by State Police Detective Sergeant Peter Layng of the Drug Trafficking North Unit, with legal assistance of the Division of Criminal Justice led by Supervising Deputy Attorney General Lauren Scarpa Yfantis.
NJ Driver’s License photo: NJSP
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