Joel Rosquette, a 50-year-old Manhattan man also known as “Rick,” was arrested today in a chilling murder-for-hire scheme targeting two neighbors and a Staten Island gas station owner. According to federal authorities, Rosquette believed he was enlisting a professional hitman—but instead walked straight into an FBI sting operation.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman for the Southern District of New York and FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. announced the arrest, revealing that Rosquette attempted to commission three murders through what he thought was a criminal associate. In reality, the person he negotiated with was an undercover FBI agent embedded in the investigation.
The plot took a twisted turn when Rosquette, short on cash, devised a plan to fund the killings. He arranged for the supposed hitman to first rob a gas station in Staten Island and murder its owner, using the stolen money to pay for the hit on his two Manhattan neighbors. The scheme unraveled when agents moved in, arresting Rosquette before any violence occurred.
Rosquette was presented in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker. He faces three counts of murder-for-hire, each carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. While the charges are presumed innocent until proven in court, prosecutors say the evidence paints a clear picture of premeditated violence.
“As alleged, Joel Rosquette attempted to hire a hitman to murder two of his neighbors in Manhattan and the owner of a gas station in Staten Island,” said U.S. Attorney Berman. “Now, thanks to the dedicated work of our partners at the FBI, Rosquette’s plan has been foiled, he is in federal custody, and his intended victims are safe.”
The case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam S. Hobson leading the prosecution. The charges in the complaint remain allegations, but federal authorities are sending a clear message: murder-for-hire schemes end in handcuffs, not graves.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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