The former manager of a famous northern New Jersey diner was sentenced to eight years in prison for plotting to kill the co-owner of the restaurant, who is his uncle by marriage.
Georgios Spyropoulos, 46, of Clifton plead guilty in July to conspiracy to murder his former boss. On Friday, he received the eight-year sentence, which included nearly seven years of parole ineligibility under the No Early Release Act.
Authorities have said an informant told them Spyropoulos was searching for a hitman to torture and kill his boss, Alexandros Sgourdos. They alleged that Spyropoulos believed Sgourdos was withholding profits and keeping a large amount of cash in a safe.
Sgourdos co-owns the Tick Tock diners in Clifton and Manhattan.
Spyropoulos was arrested in April 2013 and indicted on attempted murder and other charges.
"If vicious, vindictive men like Georgios Spyropoulos held sway, we would live in a much more violent world,” said New Jersey Attorney General John Hoffman. “Fortunately, law and order – in the form of the New Jersey State Police – prevailed in this case, and his elaborate plot to have his uncle tortured and murdered has instead ended in a lengthy prison sentence for Spyropoulos.”