Bank Manager Arrested for Allegedly Hiring Hitman to Kill Brother-in-Law

Reshma Massarone, a 39-year-old bank manager from Woodstock, New York, has been arrested and charged with racketeering/murder-for-hire. According to federal court filings unsealed on Tuesday, Massarone allegedly attempted to hire a hitman to kill her brother-in-law. The criminal complaint states that she agreed to pay $10,000 for the murder, with a $2,500 down payment sent from a suburban Walgreens.

The case against Massarone began on July 20 when she contacted a police officer she knew in Guyana through Facebook Messenger. The officer had provided security for Massarone’s brother-in-law and his family during their visits to Guyana. Massarone believed that the preexisting friendship between the officer and her brother-in-law would make him an unsuspecting target.

In conversations over Facebook and WhatsApp, Massarone’s police officer acquaintance informed her that he couldn’t carry out the murder himself but knew a hitman who could. Massarone sent $2,500 to the officer in Guyana on July 21, as captured on store security video. However, on July 24, Massarone’s brother-in-law learned about the plot from the officer and reported it to the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, Guyana.

The officer assured Massarone that the hitman was ready and that the murder would be made to look like a robbery. However, the hit did not take place, and Massarone and the officer continued to communicate until August 16. The officer eventually turned the communications over to U.S. law enforcement, leading to Massarone’s arrest.

Massarone remains detained as a danger to the community, and her court-appointed federal defender has not commented on the case. If convicted, she could face up to 10 years in prison. Massarone is scheduled to appear in court on September 5.