Mother of 4 Sentenced for Murder-for-Hire of Husband

Susan Williams, former Rockville Centre resident and mother of four children, has been sentenced to prison for no less than eight years, with a maximum of 25, for attempting to hire a hit man to murder her husband, and, for trying to swindle an insurance company out of $1 million in a false claim, as reported by the LI Herald.

Judge Norman St. George found Williams guilty on November 15 for a murder attempt made last March and for forging her estranged husband's signature on a life insurance policy.  St. George found her not guilty of criminal solicitation.

Residing now in Garden City, Williams, 44, was in a contentious divorce with her husband, Peter Williams, before she hired a hit man to end his life.

Williams had in reality hired a Nassau County police detective that was working with Joseph LaBella in a sting operation.  LaBella was Susan Williams' former private investigator.

Jurors were shown a surveillance tape of the clandestine meeting that took place on March 3 at Eisenhower Park between Williams and the undercover officer. 

Anne Donnelly, the Nassau County Prosecutor, reminded jurors of the tape during her closing remarks and said, "This was not a crime of passion, it was a cold, calculated crime."

Williams is seen on the video offering $20,000 in exchange for her husband's murder.  She also offered up other important information on how she was to pay the sum - Williams planned on being $1 million richer after her husband's death as she had named herself beneficiary in a forged life insurance policy.

In a statement that she read out loud to the courtroom, through tears, Williams said, "I would like to apologize to my children and parents.  I have no explanation …I've spent my life trying to be a great mother."

St. George, in noticing that Williams didn't acknowledge her own guilty premeditated actions, wasn't moved by her statement.  St. George said, "The defendant has not acknowledged her guilt, the defendant definitely took matters into her own hands, it was premeditated."

Susan Williams had to sign, per St. George, a court order of protection requested by the prosecution on the behalf of her estranged husband Peter Williams.

After the sentencing Nassau County District Attorney, Kathleen Rice, said, "Susan Williams wanted her husband dead and stopped at nothing to make it happen.  Every shred of evidence in this case pointed to a cold-blooded woman who laughed while discussing her husband's murder. Thanks to the hard work of members of the Nassau County Police Department and my office, however, this defendant's violent plans never came to fruition."

John Carman, the defense attorney for Susan Williams will be appealing the sentence.

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