24-year prison term for murder plot

A New Jersey-based political consultant was sentenced Thursday, June 29 to 24 years in prison for hiring two men to kill a longtime associate who had worked for him on various political campaigns, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said.

Sean Caddle, 45, of Hamburg previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit murder for hire.

Vazquez imposed the sentence in Newark federal court.

“Sean Caddle unleashed two violent hitmen to stab Michael Galdieri to death and set fire to his apartment,” Sellinger said. “Despite being lifelong friends, Caddle paid to have Galdieri murdered because he thought that his own business interests were at risk.

“Today’s sentence is a just punishment for a heinous crime and provides some measure of justice for the victim and his family. I want to credit the dedicated agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the members of my office who doggedly pursued this cold-case murder investigation for years and have now brought to justice all three individuals responsible for the death of Michael Galdieri.”

The Associated Press reported earlier that Caddle hired two career criminals to kill a colleague because the fellow consultant sought to extort money from him, according to court filing that prosecutors made public Wednesday, June 27.

FBI Special Agent in Charge James Dennehy said, “Regardless of any dispute or argument a person has with someone, hiring hitmen to solve it is not only cold-hearted and despicable but also against the law.

“Caddle now faces justice for paying to having his former colleague and friend murdered. He will spend years in federal prison contemplating his actions, a small price to pay when another man lost his life.”

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:

In April 2014, Caddle solicited George Bratsenis of Monroe, Conn., to commit a murder in exchange for thousands of dollars. Bratsenis recruited Bomani Africa, a longtime accomplice from Philadelphia, to join the plot.

After Bratsenis confirmed his and Africa’s interest in the job, Caddle told Bratsenis that the target was a longtime associate who had worked for Caddle on various political campaigns.

On May 22, 2014, Bratsenis and Africa traveled from out of state to Galdieri’s apartment in Jersey City. After entering the apartment, the two men stabbed him to death, then set fire to the apartment.

After Caddle learned that he had been murdered, he met Bratsenis in the parking lot of a diner in Elizabeth. Caddle paid Bratsenis thousands of dollars in exchange for the murder, and Bratsenis shared the money with Africa.

In addition to the prison term, Vazquez sentenced Caddle to five years of supervised release.

Bratsenis was sentenced March 29 to 16 years in prison; Africa was sentenced Feb. 23 to 20 years in prison.