Political operative in bizarre NJ murder-for-hire case must leave home after missing rent

A federal judge ordered political consultant Sean Caddle in January 2022 to don an ankle monitor and not leave his Sussex County home after pleading guilty to hiring two hit men to kill a former friend and associate.

The Hardyston address where Caddle has awaited sentencing for nearly a year and a half is about to change, because Caddle missed months of rent payments.

In a legal proceeding on Tuesday, Superior Court Judge David Weaver approved an agreement between Caddle and his landlord: Caddle and his family must move out by April 15, or else they will be physically removed from the property. Caddle would not be required to pay the thousands of dollars he previously owed in missed rental payments.

Caddle’s landlords, Matthew and Karen Meenan, filed for eviction on Dec. 15, 2022, saying Caddle and his wife began missing rent payments in October 2022 on the Hardyston home, where they have lived for more than five years. The Meenans said the Caddles owed $10,812 in rent and fees; Caddle estimated they owed $8,000 and wanted to use their security deposit toward rent.

“I just want to get out of the situation and move forward,” Matthew Meenan said. “I’m out more than $18,000 at this point.”

Caddle and Meenan came to the deal with a court-appointed mediator and Meenan's attorney in a separate room before presenting the signed settlement agreement to Weaver in the courtroom. Caddle, in a three-quarter zip sweater and khakis, said little before the judge after being sworn in, other than "Yes, your honor" to questions from the judge about whether he understood the agreement.

“I worked out an agreement with him … Matt’s a really good guy, and I’m sorry for the trouble he went through,” Caddle said outside the Newton courthouse.

Murder for hire

Caddle, 45, previously pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit murder for hire. He had confessed to paying a Connecticut man to kill Michael Galdieri, who was found stabbed in his apartment on May 22, 2014. Galdieri’s second-floor Jersey City apartment was set aflame.

According to U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez, Caddle paid two hit men $15,000 to kill Galdieri because he was angry that Galdieri had been stealing money from him, Vazquez said during the sentencing of one of the two hit men.

More:Sentencing delayed for political operative at center of bizarre NJ murder-for-hire case

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Caddle was cooperating with the government on a separate, unknown investigation, and Caddle’s name appears in court documents in a case involving Tony Teixeira, the former chief of staff to New Jersey Senate President Nicholas Scutari. Teixeira pleaded guilty in federal court in November to tax evasion and wire fraud charges. His sentencing is set for June 27.

“As a cooperating witness for the U.S. Attorney's Office on an ankle monitor, there was some confusion about my ability to work and the possibility of relocation,” Caddle wrote to the landlord-tenant court in January. “Both of these fell through and I received a letter from my attorney in December stating that I would not be able to work, per the US Attorney's direction. Considering a target vacate date at the end of the lease.”

'Nothing but kind'

Meenan said he was "shocked" when he heard about Caddle’s guilty plea in the murder-for-hire case.

“He was candidly nothing but kind,” Meenan said. “He would send me a text on Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's — ‘Enjoy yourself’ — for 4½ years.”

Meenan attached to the eviction filing a string of text messages from last fall that show him repeatedly bringing up the missed rent to Caddle, and the two going back and forth scheduling times to talk.

Interspersed are glimpses of Caddle’s interactions with federal authorities.

“I got called in by an agent to do a debrief and he had a midday meeting so I got caught waiting around,” Caddle wrote on Oct. 25. “On a positive note I spoke with the lawyer twice Friday and a longer conversation on Saturday the [Assistant U.S. Attorney] Sean Farrell is going to help with everything so it went well I will explain when I call after the doctors.”

Another message on Oct. 21 from Meenan said, “Keep fingers crossed for this thing to happen.”

“Thank you Matt,” Caddle replied. “Already spoke with my lawyer today but he has a call he had to get on. He is calling me tomorrow to go over everything and I will call you Monday…For the cliff notes version in a 12 minute conversation the lawyer had with me today he gave me 5 Bullets we have to talk about tomorrow but all were positive.”

Amending conditions of release

Also on Tuesday, Vazquez amended Caddle’s conditions of release and added as a bond co-signer Pablo Cifuentes, a relative of Caddle’s wife, according to a March 28 filing.

Caddle’s mother originally co-signed Caddle’s unsecured appearance bond, promising to pay $1 million if he failed to appear in court, but died after she suffered a severe “medical episode” that likely caused a two-car crash on Feb. 27.

This month, Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Cortes said the government would “be reconsidering the conditions of his release if he’s not able to find” a new person to co-sign the bond and was “weighing whether we should have a bail hearing.”

Caddle is scheduled to be sentenced in Newark on June 29, a date that has been pushed back three times.

One of the two professed hit men, Paterson native Bomani Africa, 62, was sentenced last month to 20 years in prison for his role in the scheme. His partner, George Bratsenis, is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday in Newark.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ murder-for-hire mastermind booted after missing rent