BOSTON - An inmate at the Essex County House of Corrections was indicted today in federal court in Boston in connection with a murder-for-hire scheme.
Mason Stickney, 20, of Byfield, was indicted on three counts of using a facility of interstate commerce in the commission of murder-for-hire.
According to court documents, in October 2017, Stickney, who was in custody at the Essex County House of Corrections, approached a fellow inmate and solicited his assistance in the murder of a police officer, a restaurateur from New Hampshire and a student. The fellow inmate reported Stickney’s solicitation to authorities. Thereafter, at the request of investigators, the inmate provided Stickney with the phone number of a would-be hitman, who was actually an undercover agent.
It is alleged that in recorded conversations between Nov. 3 and Nov. 8, 2017, both on the phone and in person at the jail, Stickney described to the undercover agent the individuals he wanted killed and how he wanted the murders committed. Stickney promised to pay the undercover agent $10,000 upon his release from jail, as well as to “get rid of three people for you guys."
Each charge provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Essex County Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Richardson of Weinreb’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
