FLORIDA, United States (CMC) — A Trinidadian newspaper columnist who now lives in Fort Lauderdale has been sentenced to 84 months in prison for mailing a hitman US$10,000.

Ryan Hadeed, who pleaded guilty in July, was sentenced on Thursday by District Judge William P Dimitrouleas.

According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the money was payment for a foiled attempt to have his ex-girlfriend’s new lover killed in 2021.

It’s reported that Hadeed, 43, used the US postal service to “solicit, plan, and pay for the murder of his former girlfriend’s new love interest.”

He pleaded guilty on July 27 in federal court to a charge of using the mail to commit murder-for-hire. He faced up to ten years in federal prison and a US$250,000 fine.

As part of his guilty plea, Hadeed admitted that in September 2021, he mailed a letter to the intended hitman asking for murder services: “I need someone eliminated. I’ve been told you can arrange that [for] $10,000 all in cash and upfront. Person located in Tampa,” he wrote.

In the letter, and in two later ones, Hadeed instructed the intended hitman to signal his acceptance of the offer by posting marked sheets of paper on a store-front window, among other things.

On November 10, 2021, the intended hitman received a final mailing from Hadeed that included a description and pictures of the man Hadeed wanted killed, the victim’s home address and likely travel schedule, and a deadline for the murder. Also inside the envelope was US$10,000 cash.

Hadeed left the country on a one-way ticket on the day the hitman received the cash and pictures, but was arrested on his return to the US.