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Ohio man’s choice of a hit-man leads to his downfall

A Cleveland-area man who wanted a Las Vegas bartender punished for allegedly sexually assaulting a family member took the old-school route in 2013, asking a known mob associate to recommend a good hit man, according to federal court documents made public this week in Ohio.

But the murder-for-hire plot never came to fruition — the recommended hit man was actually working undercover with the FBI.

Dennis A. Totarella, 65, offered the ersatz hit man $40,000 to travel to Las Vegas and kill his former son-in-law, a criminal complaint filed in Cleveland alleges.

Totarella, identified in media reports as the owner of a construction company, was charged in Cleveland Thursday with one count of use of an interstate communication facility to commit murder for hire. Following his June 2013 arrest, he cooperated with FBI agents against the helpful mob figure, James Martino, who also lives in the Cleveland area, documents show.

Martino, 65, identified by the FBI as a known mob associate, is alleged to have introduced Totarella to the undercover hit man and to have helped further the plot. Later, Totarella secretly recorded his telephone conversations with Martino for the FBI as the scheme progressed, the documents state.

According to the Cleveland U.S. attorney's office, Martino was indicted by a federal grand jury there last month in the murder scheme. He pleaded not guilty.

The criminal complaint against Totarella alleges he provided the confidential FBI source with photos of the bartender, his Las Vegas address, Google maps of his neighborhood and the name of the Strip casino and bar where he worked.

Totarella also gave the undercover hit man an additional $5,000 for travel expenses, the complaint alleges.

Court records show Totarella has not yet entered a plea on the murder scheme charge.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Find him on Twitter: @JGermanRJ.

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