NEW YORK – A con man already imprisoned in a collectible coin scam has been sentenced to life in prison for a failed plot to decapitate a New York judge and prosecutor.
Another judge in Brooklyn imposed the sentence on Monday against Joseph Romano.
Before hearing his fate, Romano told the judge he was innocent. He says he was framed by federal agents to keep him from exposing misconduct in the coin fraud investigation.
Romano was convicted in January in the decapitation plot. Jurors heard recordings of him agreeing to pay $40,000 to an agent posing as a hit man.
Prosecutors say the plot unfolded in 2012 after Romano was sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $7 million in the coin scheme, which victimized elderly investors.
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