Nicola Romeo: Northern beaches man’s plot to kill Lizette Diaz
A northern beaches grandfather paid what he thought was a hit man $30k to make his ex-wife “disappear”. He met with the “assassin” to discuss how they would cover their tracks and even how they would dispose of the body. But unbeknown to the 76-year-old he was talking to an undercover cop.
Manly
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The shocking details of a grandfather’s plot to have his ex-wife killed have been revealed as he appealed his almost ten year sentence.
Nicola Romeo, from Brookvale on Sydney’s northern beaches, was sentenced last year for attempting to organise a $30,000 hit on his second wife Lizette Diaz.
But Romeo had inadvertently hired a fraudster who had no intention of carrying out the kill and was instead just trying to get his hands on some money, court documents reveal.
He instead told the police of the plan and Romeo was arrested.
A court heard Ms Diaz still fears for her life daily.
The agreed facts of the case state that in August 2016 Italian-born Romeo, then 76, met a man named Mr Kruscic on a work site and the two men became friends.
Two years before, following an eight year marriage, Romeo and Ms Diaz’s relationship had broken down.
Ms Diaz took out an AVO against Romeo for her and her son from a previous marriage.
Romeo discussed the “problems” he was having with his wife with Kruscic and they talked about making her “disappear”.
He agreed to help make it happen.
Kruscic requested a photo of Ms Diaz and her address, and after “some investigation” told Romeo “it’s easy to do”.
The applicant told a court he believed Ms Diaz had “betrayed him”.
The hit man asked Romeo for a total of $30,000 for the job, which was to occur before the AVO hearing on November 29, 2016.
Court documents state that “Mr Kruscic never intended to carry out the task, never sourced anyone else to carry it out, and only planned to defraud the applicant”.
Kruscic contacted Romeo in the weeks leading up to the agreed murder date and found that he still wanted Ms Diaz killed.
He then called police to inform them of the plot.
Police arranged to have an undercover officer pose as the ‘assassin’ and a meeting was arranged with Romeo, the ‘assassin’ and Kruscic.
Kruscic asked him to bring the “plans for the gyprocking”, which referred to the photo of Ms Diaz, and told Romeo he was “good to finish the gyprocking job”, referring to the murder.
Two days later on November 18, 2016, they met.
Romeo gave the “hit man” instructions about a letter he wanted him to force Ms Diaz to write and how to dispose of her body.
Romeo wanted Ms Diaz’s son to get a letter from his mother which would read: “Sorry if I do this to you. I’ve decided to leave for good. I go away with my friend, I can’t tell you who that is.”
He dictated the letter to the police operative.
“Good luck and I wish you all the best. If you wish go live with your stepfather because always he love you. Thank you and goodbye for you.”
He told the undercover officer “he did not care how she died as long it was done,” court documents reveal.
She has been “ripping me off for nine years”, Romeo told the officer.
He added that he wanted the job done “straight away” and before the AVO hearing.
The court later found this was an attempt “to pervert the course of justice”.
The deal was done, Romeo believed.
Later that day, he attended a Northern Beaches RSL club with an unknown female friend and her son, and was arrested by police.
Romeo pleaded guilty to soliciting murder and a judge sentenced him to nine years, nine months with a non-parole period of six years for the “cowardly and heinous crime”.
Romeo took the case to the Supreme Court of Appeal arguing the sentence was “manifestly excessive”.
His barrister Phillip Boulten SC argued that the offending was less serious than the sentencing judge had found because the plan was a fraud the entire time, Kruscic encouraged the plan and Romeo may not have sought-out the hit man.
This was unanimously rejected by the Court of Appeal on Monday as Romeo “had given considerable thought as to how the killing was to be carried out and remain undetected,” Justice Michael Price wrote in his judgment.
“The offence was motivated at least partially by the applicant’s wish to have his former wife murdered before he was due to attend court on 29 November 2016 for the AVO,” Justice Michael Price said.
“An offence of solicit to murder is seriously aggravated where the motive is to interfere with the administration of justice.”
He found the fact that it was a fraud does not diminish the seriousness of the offending.
Justice Price also said Romeo “could not demonstrate that the sentence was unreasonable or plainly unjust”.
The appeal was dismissed.