Opinion ID: 1934777
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Contract Killers

Text: Randy Burroughs Burroughs' case is set out as part of the discussion of Francis Brand in subsection iii, supra at 59-60, 651 A. 2d at 976-977. Burroughs was charged with conspiracy, murder, felony murder, burglary, and possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes. He pleaded guilty to murder, and the other charges were dismissed. The court sentenced Burroughs to a thirty-year term with a thirty-year period of parole ineligibility. Burroughs was graduated from high school, having taken special-education classes. He has had several jobs but has not held any of them for longer than six months. He is single and has three children by three different women. He has no history of drug abuse. His record shows one conviction for terroristic threats, which resulted in a fine. James D. Clausell This case is reported in part as State v. Clausell, 121 N.J. 298, 580 A. 2d 221 (1990). The victim, Edward Atwood, filed a complaint in municipal court against his neighbor, Roland Bartlett, for intentional cruelty in failing to provide his dog with water and for leaving excrement in the dog's kennel for excessive periods of time. Bartlett was acquitted of the intentional-cruelty charge but was fined for failing to clean the dog's kennel. On August 12, 1984, Atwood was at a basketball game with his grandparents when two men arrived at the door of his house at 10:45 p.m. Atwood's wife did not recognize them, and when she told them that her husband was not home, they left. Atwood returned with his grandparents shortly after midnight, whereupon the men returned and knocked. When Atwood opened the door, his wife, grandparents, and daughter Tanya were close by. His son Darrell sat at the top of the stairs. The first man, Dwayne Wright, asked for Ed, to which Atwood replied that they had the wrong guy. As Atwood tried to close the door, Wright stepped out of the way and Clausell fired two shots from his .357 Magnum handgun. The first shot killed Atwood. The second shot narrowly missed Tanya. An anonymous tip identified Clausell and Grant as the killers and Jennifer Schall as the driver of the getaway car. Clausell and Wright were tried together for own-conduct knowing and purposeful murder, conspiracy to commit murder, five counts of aggravated assault, possession of a weapon with unlawful intent, and possession of a handgun without a permit. Paul Grant, a friend of Wright, testified that Roland Bartlett's son, Anthony, had approached him about killing someone for $5000. He also testified that Clausell had received a phone call, had stated that they were going to receive $2000 apiece for murdering someone that evening, and had armed himself with a .357 Magnum. Schall, testifying under a grant of immunity, stated that Clausell and Wright had embarked on an attempt to collect some drug money and perhaps to beat up the debtor. She also testified that she had heard two gunshots, after which the two men had run back to the car and they drove off. She dropped them off at a club allegedly owned by Bartlett, where they expected to be paid. The trial court dismissed the conspiracy charge. The jury convicted Clausell of purposeful or knowing murder, finding that he had fired the gun, and also convicted him of three of the five aggravated-assault charges and the two weapons charges. The jury found Wright guilty of the same charges, but because it did not find that he had fired the gun, he was not subject to death-penalty proceedings. Wright received a life term with a thirty-year parole bar for the murder, and consecutive sentences totaling six years and three months for the other charges. At the penalty trial for Clausell, the jury found aggravating factors c(4)(b), that Clausell had knowingly or purposely subjected someone other than his victim to a grave risk of death, and c(4)(d), commission of murder for payment. It found mitigating factors c(5)(c), age; c(5)(f), no prior record; and c(5)(h), the catchall factor. It also found that each aggravating factor outweighed all the mitigating factors beyond a reasonable doubt. The court sentenced Clausell to death. It also sentenced him to a custodial term for the other convictions. We reversed defendant's death sentence, 121 N.J. 298, 580 A. 2d 221 (1990), because the trial court had failed to instruct the jury that Clausell could be convicted of capital murder only if he purposefully or knowingly had caused the death of Atwood, as opposed to purposely or knowingly causing serious bodily injury that resulted in death, a Gerald error. See Gerald, supra, 113 N.J. 40, 549 A. 2d 792. On remand, defendant was not sentenced capitally. Roland Bartlett was convicted and sentenced to a life term with a thirty-year parole bar. Clausell, a tenth-grade dropout, used cocaine daily. After Atwood's murder, but before Clausell's arrest for that murder, Clausell had been arrested for shooting another man in the leg three times. He had suffered a head injury as a child, resulting in severe headaches. Anthony DiFrisco Reported at 118 N.J. 253, 571 A. 2d 914 (1990) ( DiFrisco I) (affirming conviction but reversing death sentence), and at 137 N.J. 434, 645 A. 2d 734 (1994) ( DiFrisco II) (upholding death sentence but postponing proportionality review). At age twenty four, DiFrisco met Anthony Franciotti when the two were serving time in prison. After both had been released, Franciotti, who distributed drugs, became convinced that Edward Potcher, an owner of a pizzeria, intended to inform the police of Franciotti's activities. He therefore asked DiFrisco to kill Potcher in return for the cancellation of a $500 drug debt and for $2500 cash. DiFrisco agreed. In early August 1986, Franciotti gave DiFrisco a $700 down payment, and on August 12 took DiFrisco to a bar, where they had some drinks and used marijuana. At about 7:30 p.m., Franciotti drove to the pizzeria. DiFrisco claimed also to have used heroin. He walked into the pizza shop, where he saw a man behind the counter who matched the description given by Franciotti. While DiFrisco was talking to the man, a delivery boy entered. To stall for time, DiFrisco ordered a slice of pizza and a soda. After the boy left, DiFrisco ordered a second soda. When Potcher turned to get the soda, DiFrisco shot him with a .32 caliber revolver four times in the head and once in the arm. The fatal entry wounds were in the face, forehead, ear, and the top of the head. DiFrisco returned to Franciotti's car and they drove away. The next day, Franciotti paid the remainder of the fee. Police had no leads. Eight months later, New York City police arrested DiFrisco for various traffic violations, car theft, and reckless endangerment. Because DiFrisco was on probation, a conviction would have caused him to return to prison. He asked the arresting officer if he could do anything to avoid incarceration. The officer told him that revealing any major crimes would help. When DiFrisco inquired whether the assailant or the principal in a contract murder was more culpable, the officer replied that the principal was. DiFrisco subsequently confessed to the Potcher murder, although he did not know the victim's name or address. Because the prosecution had nothing other than DiFrisco's allegations, the assistant prosecutor suggested that DiFrisco place a call to Franciotti, to induce Franciotti to make incriminating statements on tape about the murder. After being informed by the prosecutor about the meaning of aggravating and mitigating factors in a capital case and after consulting with a public defender, DiFrisco agreed to make the call. However, DiFrisco's father told him not to cooperate without the advice of paid counsel. The assistant prosecutor told him that after his arrest was made public, DiFrisco would not be given a chance to cooperate. He decided not to make the call and asked to be returned to jail. After DiFrisco was charged with capital murder, the State alleged aggravating factors c(4)(c), outrageously wanton or vile murder; c(4)(d), murder for pecuniary gain; and c(4)(f), murder to escape detection. DiFrisco pleaded guilty, admitted that his intention had been to kill Potcher, and waived his right to a jury for his penalty trial. The trial court found aggravating factors c(4)(d) and c(4)(f). Of the five mitigating factors submitted, c(5)(c), age; c(5)(d), mental disease, defect, or intoxication; c(5)(f), no significant prior criminal history; c(5)(g), substantial assistance to the State; and c(5)(h), the catchall factor, the court found only c(5)(g), substantial assistance. It sentenced DiFrisco to death. This Court affirmed the defendant's murder conviction but reversed his death sentence for lack of corroborating evidence of his confession that he had been hired by Franciotti to kill Potcher. On remand of the sentencing proceedings the defendant elected to have a jury trial. The State alleged aggravating factors c(4)(d) and c(4)(f), and defendant again alleged mitigating factors c(5)(a), c(5)(d), and c(5)(h). All jurors found that DiFrisco had committed the murder for payment, but only eleven found that he had committed it to avoid detection of another crime. However, the jury found beyond a reasonable doubt that the aggravating factor outweighed all the mitigating factors that it had found, and accordingly the trial court again sentenced DiFrisco to death. We upheld that second capital sentence, 137 N.J. 434, 645 A. 2d 734 (1994). DiFrisco was addicted to heroin and cocaine. He has two prior adult convictions, for burglary and for criminal trespass. Miguel Melendez Melendez came to the United States from Cuba in 1980, fleeing criminal convictions and military service there. He lived for a time with Lazaro Trimino. Trimino had contacts with Pedro Gerome, who offered Trimino $5000 and a vacation in Miami if Trimino killed or hired someone to kill a certain person in Jersey City. Trimino hired someone, and Gerome gave that person a gun, but the person was arrested for possessing the gun. Trimino then asked Melendez, who agreed to perform the killing as proof of his friendship with Trimino. Trimino instructed Melendez to wait in the victim's apartment building and, to confirm the victim's identity, to inquire about a car that the victim was selling. As the victim returned to his apartment from shopping with his ten-year-old daughter, Melendez approached him and asked in Spanish about the car. The victim replied that he had already sold the car. Melendez then asked him for money. Replying that he had none, the victim walked away. The daughter then heard two shots and turned around to see her father fall to the ground. He was later pronounced dead. When police arrived at the scene, the daughter gave them a description of Melendez. A former political prisoner in Cuba and the head of a club of such former prisoners, the victim was survived by his wife and two daughters. Through information provided by an informant, police were able to tape a telephone conversation in which Melendez admitted having been paid for killing someone in Jersey City. When arrested, Melendez waived his rights and gave a statement in which he acknowledged that he had committed the killing, after which he and Trimino had fled to Puerto Rico. Melendez and Trimino were charged with conspiracy to commit murder, purposeful and knowing murder, possession of a handgun for unlawful purposes, and unlawful possession of a handgun. A jury convicted Melendez on all counts. At the penalty trial, the jury found aggravating factor c(4)(d), murder for pecuniary gain. The defense asserted mitigating factors c(5)(a), extreme mental or emotional disturbance; c(5)(d), mental disease, defect, or intoxication; c(5)(g), assistance to the State in another prosecution; and c(5)(h), the catchall factor. The jury found only c(5)(g) and c(5)(h). Because the jury was unable to agree on the weighing of the factors, the trial court sentenced Melendez to life with a thirty-year term of parole ineligibility, merged the conspiracy conviction into the murder conviction, gave Melendez a consecutive ten-year sentence with a three-and-one-half-year parole disqualifier for possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and merged the unlawful-possession conviction into the possession-for-an-unlawful-purpose conviction. Trimino pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and received a ten-year term. Gerome has fled the country. Michael Rose Michael Rose met Zoran Cveticanin, who wanted his step-mother, Kathryn, killed to prevent her from inheriting the estate of her husband, the defendant's father, Vlado. Zoran also convinced fifteen-year-old Edwin Quinton to take part in the scheme. Quinton lived next to the Glassboro store operated by Vlado and Kathryn. Zoran had talked about having Kathryn killed since the day that he and Quinton had met a couple of months before. About a month before the murder, Zoran gave Quinton keys to the store and told Quinton that Rose was going to kill Kathryn. He asked Quinton to lock the door behind Rose and to act as a lookout. On the morning of July 20, 1983, Zoran gave Quinton sixty dollars and told him that the murder was to take place that day. Around noon, Zoran called Quinton from Philadelphia to say that Rose would arrive around 2:00 p.m. Rose met Quinton, told him that he would probably strangle Kathryn, and asked Quinton to enter the store to see if she was alone. Quinton did so, returned, and reported that Kathryn was indeed alone, after which Rose waited about five minutes and then entered the store. Quinton then went home. Inside the store, Rose used two knives, a tackhammer, a stick, a hacksaw, and a sump pump to kill the pregnant Kathryn. He stabbed her eighty-three times and inflicted several blunt-force wounds. When Quinton returned to the store later, he saw the body lying in blood. Thereafter he returned the keys to Zoran. Several days later, Zoran and his sister gave Rose $540 of the promised $1000 and directed him to dispose of his bloodstained clothes. Rose was arrested and charged with purposeful and knowing murder and with conspiracy to commit murder. At trial, he testified in his defense that he had gone to the store only to warn Kathryn that Zoran was going to kill her, whereupon she had attacked Rose with a knife. Rose claimed to have killed the victim in self defense in the course of the ensuing struggle. The State's expert stated that the bloodstains established that when struck, the victim had been backing away from her assailant and that thirty-six to thirty-eight of the eighty-three stab wounds were defensive wounds. A jury convicted Rose on both charges. At the penalty trial, the State sought to prove aggravating factors c(4)(c), outrageously wanton or vile murder, and c(4)(d), murder for pecuniary gain. The defense urged mitigating factors c(5)(d), diminished capacity to appreciate wrongfulness; c(5)(e), duress; c(5)(f), no significant prior criminal record; c(5)(g), substantial assistance; and c(5)(h), the catchall factor. The penalty jury found aggravating factor c(4)(c) and mitigating factors c(5)(e), c(5)(f), c(5)(g), and c(5)(h). The verdict sheet wrongly required unanimity of mitigating factors. However, the jury was unable to reach a decision in the weighing process, so the trial court sentenced Rose to life with a thirty-year parole disqualifier for the murder conviction and a consecutive ten-year term with a five-year parole-ineligibility period for the conspiracy conviction. Defendant who has an I.Q. of sixty-eight, dropped out of school at the tenth grade to start working. At the time of the murder, he was collecting workers' compensation. He is separated from his common-law wife and has two children. He was a member of his church's choir. He claims to have developed memory loss due to alcohol and cocaine abuse. He also reports physical problems such as dizziness and nosebleeds from being assaulted in prison. Zoran Cveticanin fled with his sister to the former Yugoslavia, where he was convicted of murder and sentenced to thirty years hard labor.