Man seeks to withdraw murder-for-hire plea

Man seeks to withdraw murder-for-hire plea

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) — A Florida man is seeking to withdraw his guilty plea in what authorities allege was an attempt to hire a man to kill his ex-wife.

Sixty-four-year-old Edward McLaughlin of Cape Coral, Fla., pleaded guilty last fall in federal court in Wilkes-Barre to conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and weapons-related charges.

The (Scranton) Times-Tribune reports that McLaughlin alleges in a motion filed Tuesday that his former attorney and a federal agent used a false promise to entice him to enter the plea.

Prosecutors allege that he promised 44-year-old Gary Williams of Scranton, his Pike County cellmate in 2011, a $50,000-a-year job if he killed McLaughlin’s ex-wife. They also allege that he shipped Williams a rifle from Florida. A jury convicted Williams in August in the case.