Federal prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty for a gas-station tycoon charged with paying 2 men to kill 1 of his former employees, the Daily News reported today. Attorney General Janet Reno gave prosecutors permission to seek the execution of Gurmeet Singh Dhinsa, who owns more than 50 gas stations, Dhinsa's lawyer, Gerald Shargel, told the Daily News. Singh had also helped authorities find Dhinsa's brother, who was convicted earlier this year of killing a man in Queens in 1991.
Federal law allows capital punishment for the murder of a witness.
Shargel said prosecutors told him Reno approved their request to seek the death penalty for Dhinsa. I want to focus on winning the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell declined to comment. An unidentified law enforcement source told the Daily News that Dhinsa believed Singh's death would weaken the murder case against his brother. Dhinsa, who heads City Gas Corp., employs more than 400 people.