A former New York City police officer charged in fatigue for rent was sentenced to four years in prison on Friday, according to court files.
Valerie Cincinelli, 37, has been in custody since her arrest in May 2019 and will be sentenced to about 30 months of service. Her lawyer James Kousouros said she would be “released in a few months”.
Cincinelli was charged with the attempted murder of her estranged husband and her boyfriend’s teenage daughter, but the alleged killer was actually an FBI undercover agent, officials said.
She was an NYPD police officer at the time and was fired after her arrest.
Cincinelli pleaded guilty to one charge of obstructing justice in April in connection with obstructing a federal grand jury investigation by deleting phone records. She was also charged with tenant murder charges that were dismissed as part of a plea deal.
Kousouros said Friday night he was pleased with the sentence. He said Cincinelli could be eligible for jail at home in about five months.
“After her release, she hopes to reunite with her family and rebuild the productive life she has always led,” Kousouros said in an email.
Prosecutors said in court documents that Cincinelli nurtured “deep-rooted jealousy and resentment” toward her boyfriend’s daughter and claimed she was trying to persuade her boyfriend to hire a killer. Her boyfriend went to the FBI.
Kousouros claimed in a memorandum of conviction that Cincinelli never wanted to kill anyone, and in court documents she claimed that she only “poured out” her frustrations in the recorded conversations.
Prosecutors demanded a total of five years in prison. The memorandum of conviction stated that she “did not leak air – she was planning a conspiracy” and she did so for several months.