Fla. Police: Newlywed Wife Hires Hit Man to Kill Husband

Aug. 6, 2009 — -- Newlywed Dalia Dippolito appeared inconsolable when she arrived at her Florida home Wednesday morning and police told her that her husband had been murdered. But local authorities said her mournful sobs were just an act.

Boynton Beach, Fla., police allege Dippolito's tears and devastated demeanor were part of a carefully orchestrated performance, and that she actually hired a hit man to murder her husband of six months.

In truth, Dippolito's husband, Michael Dippolito, wasn't dead; he was hidden away as investigators showed his wife a fake crime scene before arresting her for solicitation to commit first degree murder.

Authorities set up a sting operation on Dalia Dippolito after a tipster called last month and said she was trying to have her 38-year-old husband killed.

The 26-year-old Dippolito has denied putting a hit on her spouse.

"I didn't do anything, and I didn't plot anything," said Dippolito. She is being held in the Palm Beach County Jail and is expected to be arraigned today, according to a jail official.

But police said they have recordings of Dippolito speaking to the supposed hitman, who actually was an undercover officer, after secretly taping all her meetings with the man.

The investigation began on July 31 when a confidential informant notified police that the newlywed wife may be trying to kill her husband.

"We then moved forward to introduce her to who she believed to be a hit man. That hitman was our undercover officer," said police Sgt. Frank Ranzie.