N.J. Tick-Tock Diner Manager Admits To Murder-For-Hire Plot
CLIFTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The former manager of the Tick Tock diner in New Jersey changed his plea to guilty Monday in what authorities said was a foiled plot to kill the co-owner of the restaurant -- his uncle by marriage.
Georgios Spyropoulos, 46, of Clifton faces up to 10 years in state prison. He pleaded guilty Monday afternoon to conspiracy to murder his former boss, The Record reported.
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.
Spyropoulos allegedly wanted Sgourdos "tortured, robbed and murdered," then-New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa said last year.
"He allegedly devised a plan to hire a hit man to kill his uncle and get rid of the body so it would be treated as missing person's case rather than a homicide," Chiesa said last year.
Authorities said Spyropoulos dished out $3,000 and was willing to pay $20,000 for his uncle to not only be killed, but for the would-be assassin to torture him until he gave up the combination to a safe that contains a large amount of money.
Court documents claim Spyropoulos gave a police officer, who was pretending to be a hitman, a chrome-plated revolver wrapped in a dishtowel.
Spyropoulos was arrested in April 2013. He was indicted on attempted murder and other charges.
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Sgourdos co-owns the Tick Tock diners in Clifton, and in Manhattan near Penn Station.
