Opinion ID: 1212404
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Murder of Israel Greenwald

Text: Notwithstanding his initial rejection of Santoro's offer of assistance from Eppolito and Caracappa, Kaplan soon had a change of heart. In early 1986, having learned that his participation in a scheme involving stolen Treasury bills was in danger of being exposed, Kaplan hired Santoro, Eppolito, and Caracappa to murder one of the other participants in the scheme, Israel Greenwald. Santoro, Eppolito, and Caracappa carried out their mission by following Greenwald's car on a highway and turning on flashing lights on their car, thereby causing Greenwald to stop on the side of the road. They told Greenwald that he was a suspect in a hit-and-run and that they needed to take him to the police station for a lineup. They then drove Greenwald instead to the premises of an auto repair shop in Brooklyn, where Santoro shot and killed him. Kaplan paid Santoro $30,000 for the murder; Santoro kept $5,000, unbeknownst to Eppolito and Caracappa, and divided the remaining $25,000 among himself, Eppolito, and Caracappa.