Bond Set At $5 Million For Dania Beach Man Accused Of Plotting To Kill Family
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A Dania Beach man, after allegedly plotting to hire someone to kill his wife and her family, was found to have a stockpile of weapons in his home and is now being held on a $5 million bond.
Jason Simione was arrested August 12th by Broward Sheriff's Office deputies and charged with three counts of solicitation to commit murder, possession of a destructive device and child abuse.
"I think those allegations are taken out of context or inaccurate or someone was venting," said Susan Brown, Simione's divorce attorney.
Simione's criminal attorney is currently working on reducing the 39-year-old's multi-million dollar bond. He's trying to get it reduced to $150,000.
According to BSO, Simione and his wife, 29-year-old Megumi Simione, are in the midst of a bitter divorce. Simione asked for full custody in his divorce filing, questioning his wife's moral fitness, saying she kept their son from him. He also said she suffered psychological issues after the birth. In his filing, he feared she would give false information to the court.
Simione, who used to work as a Hollywood firefighter and now owns a tactical equipment store in Fort Lauderdale, allegedly asked an employee to help him find a hitman to kill his wife, her family and his own baby.
In domestic petitions filed by his wife, including one last week, Megumi accused him of slamming their nine-month-old baby down on a table in front of co-workers, cutting his head and bruising his face.
"I'll tell you one thing for absolutely certain," said his criminal attorney David Bogenschutz, "This man would never hurt his own child."
Simione's wife also wrote, "He stalked me. He is an extremely violent, mentally unstable man and detectives are worried for my safety."
BSO said that Simione's home was like a fortress ready for battle with authorities.
Simione expressed distaste for the U.S. government policies, including the president, and often used racial epithets, according to authorities.
BSO SWAT team executed a search warrant at Simione's home following his arrest and found 68 rifles, shotguns and handguns, including a .50 caliber sniper rifle and somewhere between 60,000 to 70,000 rounds of ammunition. The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to officials, assisted.
Simione worked for Hollywood Fire Rescue for 15 years. He retired 3 years ago. His personnel file showed he was docked 8 hours pay twice for being late. Other than that, there was no disciplinary action.
