Juan Garcia and his half-sister Elizabeth DeJesus were just trying to help out their boss, say federal prosecutors. Thing is, the boss allegedly wanted two people dead and a third maimed.
Nevertheless, they found the boss a hit man, and in April and May they surveilled the victims' homes, a business, and even helped obtain a weapon at a rendezvous in New Jersey photographed by the FBI.
Problem was, the "hit man" was a government informer.
Yesterday, Garcia, 31, and DeJesus, 27, both of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty to federal charges of murder-for-hire and agreed to cooperate against their boss, Mahn Huu "Bruce" Doan, who allegedly ordered the killings.
"Make it look like a robbery," Doan said, according to a partial transcript filed in court.
The charges surprised those who knew Doan, of South Philadelphia, because he was already under federal indictment - and cooperating with prosecutors - in a mortgage fraud scam. In June, he was sent off to 151 months in prison and ordered to pay $5 million restitution.
Garcia and DeJesus worked for Doan's construction business when Doan allegedly was looking for someone to kill two men: a Philadelphia lawyer who had filed several real estate lawsuits against him, and a man who he believed had instigated the legal actions.
The person Doan allegedly wanted merely maimed was a business associate who was fighting with him over building renovation costs.
Garcia and DeJesus surveilled the two potential murder victims' residences, and photographed the homes and the attorney's law office, according to their plea agreements.
On May 14, DeJesus drove the supposed hit man to Collingswood to pick up a firearm, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine E. Sykes. That was the meeting photographed by the FBI.
Both Garcia and DeJesus remain in jail pending sentencing.
Contact staff writer Nathan Gorenstein at 215-854-5983 or ngorenstein@phillynews.com.
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