Image Source: Yahoo News

In 2008 Joseph Romano was making a fortune by running a coin-fraud scheme. Romano it seems, was a bit of a classic Chevy fan as well, and had a mechanic by the name of Nicholas Pittas perform a few restoration jobs for him before Romano was caught in his multimillion dollar scheme and convicted to 15 years in prison. Romano used Pitta’s shop to restore a ’57 Chevy, ’68 Camaro, and a ’67 Impala.

“The ’57 Chevrolet and the Camaro came and went, but the Impala was always at our shop,” Pittas testified last week. “It was a bigger job. Basically every nut and bolt was removed, refurbished. The body was taken off the chassis, engine, transmission — all rebuilt.” He wasn’t kidding either, the bills on just the Impala totaled $50,000. So when he wasn’t paid he put a lien against the Camaro and repossessed it.

After Romano was arrested he sent his business associate to the restoration teams shop to take back the Camaro. Pittas explained he would release the Camaro once the bills for the Impala were paid. For this, Romano who was a little upset already at the Judge and prosecuting attorney from his previous case, decided it was time to take matters into his own hands. In 2012 authorities learned through a snitch in the jail that Romano had expressed a lot of interest in having the prosecuting attorney and judge killed and decapitated.

Pittas and the undercover agent staged this photo to make it seem like he was ruffed up for proof to Romano.

So when an undercover agent visited Romano he wanted a slight test to see if the “hitman” was for real. So he offered the undercover agent $3,000 to provide a beating to Pittas who he accused of not only stealing one car, but two!

“I have one to start. Stole two cars from me,” Romano said in a recorded conversation, referring to Pittas.

“Beat him up? Smack him up?” the undercover asked.

“Beat him.”

“Bad?”

“Bad.”

At this point the undercover agent arrived at Pittas shop and had an brought him up to speed on the events and had a strange request to ask of him. He made Pittas lie on the ground and look as if he had received a pretty nasty beating while he snapped a quick photo as proof for Romano. The proof was enough for Romano, who at the site of the evidence offered $40,000 to kill the Judge and Prosecutor. But this time he wanted more proof: the heads of both preserved in formaldehyde.

Before the plot could go any further the authorities stepped in and he was charged. He was found guilty this past week and now faces up to life in prison.

So what is the moral of this story? Make an honest living, be happy, and last but not least pay your mechanic.