đź”´ A Philadelphia man is convicted in a revenge-murder plot; faces life in prison
đź”´ He planned to kill a NJ prosecutor and other government officials
đź”´ The officials had a hand in putting him behind bars for a separate crime
A Philadelphia man has been convicted for plotting to kill a New Jersey prosecutor and other government officials.
Stephen Smink, 62, was found guilty on Aug. 15 of conspiring with others to kill Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae, First Assistant Prosecutor Harold Shapiro, two Superior Court judges, and an assistant prosecutor who were involved in his 2014 arson charge conviction.
ALSO READ: Scam targeting NJ electric customers over real $100 credit
“This defendant planned to kill public servants for doing their jobs and putting him behind bars for crimes he previously committed. State Police and prison officals found out about the plan and interceded before anyone was harmed. He now faces a lengthy prison sentence for his violent scheme,” New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said in a written statement.
Smink, the former owner of Pike Lanes, a Bridgeton bowling alley (now named Campani’s Legacy Lanes), was previously sentenced to serve 15 years in state prison for orchestrating a plan to burn down rival bowling alley, Loyle Lanes Bowling Center in Vineland, according to authorities. Two Philadelphia residents accused of starting the fire also pleaded guilty.
In April 2019, while Smink was serving his sentence in Northern State Prison in Newark, the New Jersey State Police Central Security Unit received information from the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness that Smink had hired a cooperating witness in 2017 to help him carry out the murder-for-hire plot…