Crime & Safety

How Mahwah Figured In Murder-For-Hire Plot

Arrangements made in Mahwah A&P parking lot, agent says

A Lyndhurst woman made arrangements with a "hitman" in a Mahwah supermarket parking lot to have her ex-boyfriend's new woman killed, US Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced in a release Thursday.

Nicole Faccenda, 42, met the "hitman" in the parking lot of the last Friday and agreed on a price of $10,000 to murder the woman, federal authorities said. The hitman was actually a federal agent and Faccenda, who works in Mahwah, was arrested Wednesday on the murder-for-hire charges.

She appeared in federal court on Thursday afternoon.

Find out what's happening in Mahwahwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Authorities said Faccenda called an acquaintance she "knew and trusted" in Florida asking if he could find someone who would be willing to kill her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend, with whom he has a child. Faccenda and the man also have a child together.

The Florida man called federal agents, who conducted the undercover investigation, he said.

Find out what's happening in Mahwahwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In several subsequent meetings in different north Jersey towns, Faccenda said that she did not want her ex-boyfriend or his new girlfriend’s kids killed, but that she wanted to “spit on the casket” of the new girlfriend, according to statements made Michael Alongi, a special agent with the Beareau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

She eventually paid a $2,000 deposit on the job, authorities said.

The undercover agent called the woman Wednesday to falsely report that he had shot the victim in the head, as per Faccenda’s alleged request, but she said she “was busy at work and couldn’t talk,” Alongi’s statement said. Federal agents arrested Faccenda at her Mahwah job shortly after the call, according to the statement.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.