A Florida man has admitted conspiring to murder Eastern District Judge Joseph Bianco (See Profile), who sits in Central Islip, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Gatz. Dejvid Mirkovic pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Brooklyn before a visiting judge, Southern District Judge John Keenan (See Profile). He faces life in prison when he is sentenced by Keenan on June 19.
Mirkovic, of West Palm Beach, Fla., admitted acting as the middleman for a business associate also charged in the conspiracy. Prosecutors say Joseph Romano wanted the officials killed in retaliation for his conviction in a separate bank and wire fraud case on Long Island. Mirkovic admitted paying two people he believed were hit men $22,000 to commit the murders. The hit men were actually undercover law enforcement officers. Bianco and Gatz were not harmed. Romano has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
