Crime, Divorce Train Wrecks, Murder, Small Law Firms

Chicago-Area Lawyer Didn't Make a 'Rational Decision' When He Hired a Contract Killer to Off a Former Client

Jason W. Smiekel, the attorney accused of taking out a hit on a former client (who also happened to be the ex-husband of Smiekel’s fiancée), has taken a plea deal....

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When we last checked in with Illinois attorney, Jason W. Smiekel, the man accused of taking out a hit on a former client (who also happened to be the ex-husband of Smiekel’s fiancée), he was busy trying to convince a judge to release him on bail. Apparently he didn’t think murder for hire was a “crime of violence.” Needless to say, that was an exercise in futility.

In August, Smiekel pleaded not guilty to seven counts of using interstate facilities in his alleged murder-for-hire scheme. At the time, readers who knew Smiekel assured us that we would “see in the end that he is the victim in this whole fiasco.” They believed that the divorce lawyer’s fiancée — otherwise known as the “hot hot hot blonde” (HHHB) — was to blame.

But based on the plea deal that Smiekel took yesterday, that doesn’t seem to be the case….

Jason Smiekel, who has been referred to as “a nice kid and an excellent lawyer,” pleaded guilty to using his cellphone to take out a hit on his fiancée’s ex. The Chicago Tribune has more information:

Smiekel’s attorney, Ralph Mecyzk, said he will argue at sentencing that his client was overwhelmed by months of harassment by the intended victim and will seek a lighter sentence than the maximum 10-year prison term because of Smiekel’s “diminished capacity” at the time.

“It was not a rational decision,” Mecyzk said. “… His mind was just really scrambled at the time.”

Not a rational decision, huh? That’s putting it pretty lightly.

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Smiekel also admitted in his plea agreement that he had promised to pay a total of $20,000 for the hit. Damn, only $20K to take out HHHB’s ex? She must have a real butterface.

Algonquin lawyer pleads guilty in murder plot [Chicago Tribune]

Earlier: Bad News for a Chicago-Area Lawyer Accused of Murder for Hire
Chicago-Area Lawyer Accused of Murder for Hire Pleads Not Guilty
What Is Up With Chicago-Area Lawyers? Updates on Reema Bajaj and Jason Smiekel

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