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Christopher Pence, age 43, of Cedar City, Utah appeared in Albany federal court on Wednesday, Dec. 6, and pleaded guilty to using the internet to solicit and pay for murder.
According to prosecutors, Pence admitted to contacting the administrator of a website dedicated to arranging contract killings in 2021.
He confessed to paying them $16,000 worth of Bitcoin to facilitate the murder of two Hoosick Falls residents in Rensselaer County.
Pence gave the administrator their names, address, and photographs and told the person to make their murders look like an accident or a botched robbery.
He also instructed them not to harm any children who lived with the victims.
The plan never came to fruition and the intended victims were never harmed.
FBI agents arrested Pence in Utah in October 2021. He has been in federal custody ever since.
He faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when he’s sentenced in April 2024.
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