A Political Consultant Feared His ‘Business Interests Were at Risk.’ So He Hired Hit Men To Kill His Longtime Friend and Associate.

A political consultant hired hit men to murder his longtime friend and associate who worked with him on political campaigns after fearing “business interests were at risk,” federal prosecutors in New Jersey said.

A judge in Newark recently sentenced Sean Caddle, 45, of Hamburg, New Jersey, to 288 months in prison, plus five years of supervised release in connection with the murder-for-hire death of Michael Galdieri, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Caddle previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder for hire.

“Sean Caddle unleashed two violent hitmen to stab Michael Galdieri to death and set fire to his apartment,” U.S. Attorney Sellinger said.

He noted: “Despite being lifelong friends, Caddle paid to have Galdieri murdered because he thought that his own business interests were at risk.”

According to prosecutors, in April 2014, Caddle solicited a Connecticut man, George Bratsenis, to murder Galdieri in exchange for thousands of dollars. Bratsenis then recruited a second man, Bomani Africa, of Philadelphia, to help carry out the killing.

The following month, on May 22, “Bratsenis and Africa traveled from out of state to the victim’s apartment in Jersey City,” prosecutors said. “After entering the apartment, Bratsenis and Africa stabbed the victim to death and then set fire to the victim’s apartment.”

Caddle then met Bratsenis in a parking lot in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and paid him thousands of dollars. Bratsenis shared the money with Africa.

“Regardless of any dispute or argument a person has with someone, hiring hitmen to solve it is not only cold-hearted and despicable, but also against the law,” FBI Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy said about the case. “Caddle now faces justice for paying to having his former colleague and friend murdered. He will spend years in federal prison contemplating his actions, a small price to pay when another man lost his life.”

Bratsenis was sentenced on March 29, 2023, to 16 years in prison for his role in the crime, while Africa received a sentence on Feb. 23, 2023, of 20 years behind bars.

“Today’s sentence is a just punishment for a heinous crime and provides some measure of justice for the victim and his family,” Sellinger said. “I want to credit the dedicated agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the members of my office who doggedly pursued this cold case murder investigation for years and have now brought to justice all three individuals responsible for the death of Michael Galdieri.”