Background: Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly (at podium) speaks at a press conference announcing charges against Navdeep Singh (News 12 Long Island). Inset: Navdeep Singh (Nassau County District Attorney’s Office).
A New York man faced charges of conspiracy and criminal solicitation after allegedly planning to murder his business partner in what authorities described as a “deranged plan.”
During a press conference on Monday, aired by local cable news channel News 12 Long Island, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly shared more information about the arrest of Navdeep Singh, 48, who purportedly hired a hit man to kill an unnamed associate. Singh allegedly promised the hit man $100,000 and 10 acres of land in India for carrying out the murder, which the suspect reportedly intended to involve extremely violent methods.
Donnelly told the media that Singh not only allegedly wanted his intended victim to be kidnapped and killed, he wanted him “dismembered,” and asked to see “a picture of the man’s head and another of his body” once the deed was done.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
According to Donnelly, Singh and his alleged target had a yearslong relationship through their work in the construction industry. But “roughly two years ago,” the two had “a dispute on a job site” that “soured their relationship.”
Donnelly said that Singh and the other man have been “locked in a yearslong, multimillion dollar civil litigation suit,” but last month, Donnelly stated Singh believed that his colleague “had to go permanently.”
The alleged plot began to unfold on May 29, as Singh started to “put a deranged plan into action.” His alleged initial offer of $100,000 and 10 acres of land commenced with an apparent down payment of $7,000, Donnelly said. The alleged hit man met with Singh and another unnamed co-conspirator several times to work out the details of the plan. Singh allegedly directed the hit man to “brutally torture, extort, and eventually kill his former colleague.”
Donnelly stated during Monday’s press conference, also covered by a local Patch outlet, that Singh allegedly “wanted [the victim] dismembered. He told the hit man he wanted a picture of the man’s head and another of his body. Singh wanted this man humiliated and afraid in the final moments of his life.”
Singh, according to authorities, allegedly purchased several burner phones for the hit man so he could “avoid law enforcement detection” leading up to the hit. He also reportedly took photos of the alleged victim’s home and sent them to the hit man. Singh was driving the hit man through the alleged target’s neighborhood the day he was taken into custody.
Donnelly stated that it was the would-be hit man who ultimately came forward to alert police to the alleged plot.
According to Donnelly, the beef between the two began when the alleged victim took Singh’s company “off a job he was managing.” In her press release, she stated, “We can say we saved a life this past weekend.”
Singh remains in custody on $1 million cash bond and $2 million surety bond and was ordered to surrender his passport. His next court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday.
