FLORIDA – A South Florida jilted lover who was accused of seeking a murderer through the mail has been sentenced to 84 months in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida has announced.
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According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida (USAO), Ryan Hadeed, 43, of Pembroke Pines, used the United States postal service to solicit, plan, and pay for the murder of his former girlfriend’s new love interest. He was sentenced last week in federal court to 84 months in federal prison.
Earlier this year, Hadeed pled guilty to a charge of using the mail to commit murder-for-hire, the USAO said.
According to the USAO, in September 2021, Hadeed mailed a letter to an intended hitman requesting murder services. In the letter, Hadeed is alleged to have said, “I need someone eliminated. I’ve been told you can arrange that. $10,000 All in cash and upfront. Person located in Tampa.”
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In that letter and two later ones, Hadeed reportedly instructed the hitman to signal acceptance of the offer by posting marked sheets of paper on a store-front window, among other things.
On November 10, 2021, the USAO said the intended hitman received a final mailing from Hadeed that included a description and pictures of the man Hadeed wanted to be killed, the victim’s home address and likely travel schedule, as well as a deadline for the murder. The envelope reportedly contained $10,000 cash.
Hadeed reportedly left the country on a one-way ticket the same day the hitman received the cash and pictures.
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The USAO said additional evidence of the crime was uncovered during a secondary customs inspection of Hadeed when he returned to the U.S. from his international trip. Law enforcement officers, who had learned of the crime, arrested Hadeed. Federal prosecutors filed a case against him in December 2021.
According to the USAO, the intended victim, who remains alive, is romantically involved with Hadeed’s former girlfriend.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Michael E. Buckley, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), Miami Field Office; Juan A. Vargas, Acting Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Region; and Troy Walker, Special Agent in Charge, Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Miami Region, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas.
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HSI Miami, USPIS Miami, and FDLE investigated the case with assistance from Florida Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph A. Cooley and Deric Zacca are prosecuting the case.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-cr-60009.
