NEWS RELEASE
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

A. COURTNEY COX
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
Nine Executive Drive, Fairview Heights, Illinois 62208, Telephone (618) 628-3700

CLINTON COUNTY MAN SENTENCED IN FEDERAL COURT FOR ROLE IN MURDER FOR HIRE PLOT

Courtney Cox, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on December 15, 2008, EDWARD H. BAREITER, JR. age 40, was sentenced to the maximum statutory term of 120 months in prison, ordered to pay a $15,000 fine, and placed on supervised release for a period of 3 years after his release from prison. The Court ordered that BAREITER’S sentence must be served consecutively to his 20-year sentence in state prison.

BAREITER pled guilty on September 4, 2008 to one count of Use of a Facility in Interstate Commerce to Facilitate Murder for Hire and one count of Conspiracy to Commit Murder for Hire. The offenses occurred during the Summer of 2006 while BAREITER was in jail in Clinton County, Illinois awaiting trial on state charges. BAREITER and his co-conspirator, attempted to arrange the murders of witnesses against BAREITER so that they could not testify against him in the state court proceeding.

BARIETER’s co-defendant pled guilty last year and is currently serving a sentence of 58 months’ imprisonment.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald S. Boyce.