Woman accused of tapping Hireahitman.net
She is also charged with allegedly paying a hitman--via PayPal--using stolen credit cards. The alleged victim was unharmed--at least physically.
Some things require explanation. Some merely leap into the mind and boggle it.
Such is the effect of the circumstances surrounding the arrest yesterday of Marissa Mark of Jersey City, N.J.
Mark, 28, is accused of hiring a hitman to kill a woman five years ago when Mark was living in Allentown, Pa. The reasons Mark allegedly wanted the woman dead aren't exactly clear, but a man's love--or a lack thereof--may have something to do with it.
Yet Mark's case is made far stranger in that she stands accused of turning to Hireahitman.net.
Perhaps you were unclear that such a service exists. Well, as the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, this was a site created by Essam Ahmed Eid, a former poker dealer at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.
It seems that Eid might not have been much of a hitman. Instead, his modus operandi was allegedly to go to the targeted souls, tell them about the hit, and ask for money to have the hit diverted.
Mark wasn't to know this and she allegedly attempted to pay Eid $19,000 as a down payment for the deed. However, investigators also claim that she tried to make her payment through PayPal (the Web makes everything more convenient, doesn't it?) using three credit cards that happened not to belong to her.
Eid allegedly flew to meet the target--a woman only referred to as A.L.R.--and reportedly told her he couldn't kill her because she looked too much like his daughter. Alleged hitmen, it seems, have feelings.
Perhaps that's why he is now behind bars in Ireland. According to the Las Vegas Sun, that's reportedly due to another botched attempt at hitting the hitman jackpot.
Though Hireahitman.net has now been taken over by a production company that wants to make a movie of Eid's interesting life, a glimpse into his original site still exists.
It makes for amusing reading.
"Hitman is the perfect solution for your killing needs. We offer a variety of professional assassination services available worldwide. Whether you are trying to put an end to a domestic dispute or eliminate your business competitors, we have the solution for you," it says.
Ah, yes. The magical word "solution." Businesses can never get enough of it.
According to the U.S. Attorney Office in Philadelphia, Mark has been charged (PDF) with conspiracy to use interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire, use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire, three counts of aggravated identity theft, attempted access device fraud, and aiding and abetting.
But still one has to wonder how she might have thought that, in times of need, your Macbook Pro could get you a hitman pro.
You can get government secrets online, yes. But with hitmen, I suspect there's a little more secrecy and trust involved.