NJ Therapist Wanted Hitman To Beat, 'Disfigure' Man: Authorities

A woman who works as a therapist recently sought retribution against a man she said had information that could cost her her job, hiring a hitman to "dismember" and "bash" his face in, authorities said on Monday.

Diane Sylvia, 58, of Somers Point wanted a Massachusetts man to suffer after first asking a patient with connections to a violent street gang to kill him. She paid an undercover agent $5,000 to maim and dismember the man in question, according to U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito.

It was not clear what connections Sylvia has to the potential victim, who was not identified.

“He needs his pretty little face bashed in, that’s what I really want,” said Sylvia, a licensed clinical social worker. “A broken arm would help, too. All he has is, like, his big muscles and his cute face.”

She wanted that face “punched in,” and she first asked one of her patients who has connections to a violent gang to kill the North Attleboro, Mass., man, saying he had been “bilking her for money for years,” according to authorities.

The patient refused to help, though. Instead, he stopped seeing her and contacted the FBI on Sept. 24, according to authorities. In October, he introduced Sylvia to, unbeknownst to her, an undercover FBI Agent he told her was a hitman.

By then, she no longer wanted the man killed; just maimed and dismembered, according to documents filed in the case. When the undercover agent asked her why, she claimed the man “ended up with some stuff on me that he was gonna report me to the licensing board, which means I have no job.”

When the agent asked her how assaulting the man would help her, Sylvia said “It’s just gonna make me feel better,” and “it’s the only way I can get him back.”

The undercover agent then told Sylvia to a prepaid phone to communicate with him about the assault, which she did. They had two meetings after that, both at her office. This is when authorities say she gave $5,000 to the agent.

During one of the meetings, Sylvia clarified how she wanted the intended victim assaulted: “Something that makes him not so cute”—while making a slashing motion on her cheek—“something so he can’t do push-ups, so he can’t work out.”

Sylvia is now charged with one count of solicitation to commit a crime of violence. If convicted, she faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Image via Google of area near Sylvia's office