Utica, NY man was sentenced today by Judge Norman A. Mordue following his guilty plea to Murder for Hire.

October 30, 2006

Glenn T. Suddaby, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, announced that Tuan Vu, 33, 2500 Sunset Avenue, Utica, NY was sentenced today by Judge Norman A. Mordue following his guilty plea to an Indictment that charged him with Murder for Hire. Vu received nine years in prison.

Vu pled guilty to hiring an individual to kill the fiancÉ of his former girlfriend. Vu first tried to hire an acquaintance who he thought would perform the murder. That person referred Vu to another purported "hit man." Unknown to Vu, that second person was an undercover New York State Trooper. Vu promised to pay the undercover officer $5,000, or, if the murder was committed before October 30, 2005, $10,000.

In addition to the nine years in jail, Judge Mordue ordered Vu to undergo mental health and substance abuse treatment while in jail. The judge also sentenced Vu to 3 years of supervised release following his release from prison. The judge imposed additional mental health and substance abuse monitoring during his time on supervised release.

This investigation was conducted by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the cooperation and assistance of the New York State Police. The matter was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Craig A. Benedict, who can be reached at 315-448-0672.