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Kessler called his old high school friend, Burns, using interstate telephone lines. Kessler wanted Burns to find somebody to kill Christopher Acierno, the estranged husband of Kessler's girlfriend, D. Kessler told Burns that if Christopher were killed, then D would receive the proceeds of a $70,000 life insurance policy, her husband's house, his car, and everything else that her husband owned. Kessler indicated that he was serious and suggested a few scenarios to carry out the murder, including a severe beating or disabling the brakes of Christopher's car. Burns reported Kessler's lethal intentions to the state police. FBI Special Agent Charles Sullivan contacted Burns. Later that night, Kessler called Burns again and told him not to kill Christopher but to engage him in a fight in an effort to induce Christopher to violate his probation. FBI Agent Steven Martz interviewed Burns and asked Burns to record any future conversations. Burns asked Kessler why he changed his mind about killing Christopher, and Kessler said, 'because D didn't want him buried under the ground . . . because they had 18 years of child support and alimony payments.' Kessler again called Burns to say that he and Stephanie were interested in having Christopher killed. Sullivan instructed Burns that if Kessler called him again, he should refer Kessler to 'Bob,' a fictitious army friend of Burns who would actually be Agent Sullivan. Kessler called Burns again. As instructed, Burns told him that he had an old army buddy who owed Burns a favor and that the buddy, 'Bob,' would contact Kessler soon. Agent Sullivan initiated contact with Kessler. Kessler freely spoke of murder, saying that he wanted it done quickly, by the end of the week, because the divorce would soon be final. Kessler said D had a couple of ideas about how to kill Christopher, which were the same two scenarios given to Burns but in greater detail. Kessler proposed that Sullivan engage Christopher in a bar fight to violate his probation. Kessler said that the decision about whether to kill Christopher or simply assault him was Stephanie's decision because the whole situation was 'essentially D's deal' as they were her kids and her husband. Kessler only wanted to do what D wanted. Kessler and Sullivan engaged in a series of telephone calls. Eventually, D and Kessler agreed to hire Sullivan to commit the murder, agreeing to pay him money out of their life insurance proceeds. The couple later said that they had changed their minds and had decided that they only wanted Sullivan to assault Christopher. They said that they wanted to make sure nothing could be traced to them, and Kessler indicated that D was 'very cautious.' The FBI ended its investigation. Six months later, Sullivan received another call from Burns. Burns and D were now interested in killing Christopher and were willing to pay $1,000 so that there would be no traces of the victim. Kessler said he also had a friend who would do it for free. The next week, Kessler told Sullivan that D did not trust 'Bob,' but that she trusted the other hit man they were considering. Sullivan offered to take care of the job for free as a favor to Burns. On September 26, 2006, Kessler told Sullivan that D had said to 'basically go ahead,' but to make sure he does not get caught and to do it at a time when D and Kessler had an alibi. The couple wanted Sullivan to make it look like a car accident and to murder both Christopher and his mother. Sullivan then asked Kessler for some money in connection with the murder; “Any way I can get, uh, you know, maybe a hundred bucks to help pay my gas or anything?” D said yeah, but it's gas money…that's all it is. Kessler gave Sullivan $100 to take care of Sullivan's expenses for killing Christopher and framing his mother so that she would not be able to obtain custody of the children. Sullivan drove to Stephanie's house on October 3, 2006, and said he needed to see a photograph of Christopher again. D showed Sullivan a picture of Christopher and told him that Christopher's appearance had not changed. Sullivan also asked if it had been Stephanie's idea to put Christopher on the railroad tracks, and when she acknowledged that it was, Sullivan left. The next morning, Sullivan called Kessler's cell phone and told him that the murder was completed according to their plan. Kessler asked some questions about how it was completed and thanked him several times. Sullivan asked him, 'This is what you and Stephanie wanted, correct?' Kessler acknowledged that it was. An indictment against Kessler and D. Kessler pleaded guilty and was sentenced to serve sixty-seven months' imprisonment. The jury returned a verdict of guilty. D was then sentenced to forty-eight months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release. D appealed.

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