A former resident of Pittsburgh, Pa., has pleaded guilty to one count of using interstate commerce facilities in connection with a murder for hire, announced United States Attorney Scott W. Brady today.
Brad Lanese, age 52, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon to the charges.
According to the court, Lanese and two associates, C.B. and L.D., ran a large marijuana grow operation in Northern California. However, when Lanese and L.D. began having difficulties, Lanese was asked to leave the property.
Back in Pittsburgh, Lanese contacted a confidential source for the Drug Enforcement Agency and asked that source to travel with him to Northern California in order to rob C.B. and L.D. of the profits from the marijuana grow operation.
On October 31, 2017, Lanese and the confidential source traveled to California. The next day, Lanese and the confidential source met with ‘Deeds’, a DEA operative acting in an undercover capacity who was to provide firearms and logistical support for the robbery.
Lanese told ‘Deeds’ that he no longer wanted to rob C.B., but wanted ‘Deeds’ to murder someone instead. Lanese then hired ‘Deeds’ to kill L.D. by injecting L.D. with a fatal dose of heroin/fentanyl mix in the marijuana fields, and pushing L.D.’s body and car over the cliffs and into the Pacific Ocean.
Lanese told ‘Deeds’ that once L.D. was dead, he would be able to return to the marijuana grow operation and pay ‘Deeds’ for the murder. On November 14, 2017, back in Pittsburgh, Lanese confirmed to ‘Deeds’ that he wanted L.D. to be murdered and agreed to pay $30,000 for the murder.
Lanese was charged via criminal complaint on December 8, 2017, and investigators from the DEA and Pittsburgh Bureau of Police arrested him at his home in Brookline. Lanese was detained pending trial and will continue to be detained pending sentencing.
Judge Bissoon scheduled sentencing for March 13, 2019, at 2:15 p.m. The law provides for a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both.
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Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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