A Brooklyn man who landed in jail for trying to kill his half-brother was charged for hiring a hitman to finish the job while he was behind bars, officials announced Thursday.
Anthony Tejada, 19, was arrested in October on attempted murder charges for shooting his brother over an inheritance dispute and agreed to pay a hitman $5,000 while in Rikers, according to a criminal complaint.
However, the hitman was actually an undercover agent and the alleged plotting was caught on recorded in-person and phone conversations, according to court documents.
On Jan. 31, Tejada allegedly told the undercover agent by phone from the jail that his brother was trying to “denounce” him from his inheritance left to him by his father, the court papers say.
Tejada allegedly told the man, “I definitely need the situation [taken] care of,” the complaint says.
Tejada also allegedly said that he didn’t “give a f–k” about his brother’s girlfriend and that if she was around when the hitman was about to kill the brother he should “take the shot,” the court documents allege.
He then allegedly assured the hired hand that he would get him the $5,000 they agreed upon by having a family member pay him, the court papers say.
Tejada — who appeared in Manhattan federal court on Thursday — was charged with murder for hire and solicitation to commit a crime of violence, for which he faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
His lawyer, Mark Gombiner, declined to comment.