Murder-For-Hire Plot Foiled In Philly After Man Wanted Ex-Associate, Mistress Killed: Feds

PHILADELPHIA — A man pleaded guilty Monday to trying to have a hitman kill his former business partner and that person's mistress in Philadelphia, authorities said.

Last year, Xin Guang Guo tried to pay a hitman $30,000 to kill two people in the Philadelphia area, prosecutors said. The person he contacted was a federal informant.

Guo owned a business involving gambling machines on the 2900 block of N. 5th Street in North Philadelphia. He wanted the "hitman" to kill his former business partner and that business partner's mistress, according to court documents.

Investigators received copies of text messages in which Guo detailed his plans, authorities said. In the ensuing days, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ("ATF") began monitoring Guo's phone calls.

Guo agreed to meet the person posing as a hitman Oct. 6 to give him $2,500 to buy a gun, prosecutors said.

At the meeting, he gave the money to an undercover ATF officer and requested photo evidence of the murders before he would pay the rest of the money, according to court documents.

After the meeting, Guo drove away and was arrested by the ATF.

Guo, 48, of Plymouth, North Carolina, pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of using interstate commerce facilities in the commission of a murder-for-hire.

He'll face up to 20 years in prison at sentencing, scheduled for July 15.

Guo's listed attorney didn't immediately return comment to Patch.