Grosse Pointe businessman Bob Bashara was sentenced to 80 to 240 months in prison today for admitting he tried to arrange the jailhouse killing of his handyman, Joseph Gentz. It's the latest twist in a bizarre murder mystery that has gripped Metro Detroit throughout 2012.
Bashara has long been regarded by police as a person of interest in the death of his wife, Jane Bashara, who was found strangled in her car in January. It had been left in an alley on the east side of Detroit.
Gentz confessed to the woman's murder and said that Bob Bashara paid him to do it. Gentz is now facing first-degree murder and conspiracy charges in her death.
Bashara has not been charged in the murder of his wife. But he is headed to prison anyway, after admitting to police that he paid Steve Tibaudo, a local furniture and appliance store owner, to hire a hit man to kill Joseph Gentz.
Tibaudo was wearing a wire from the police, and recorded Bashara asking for his help in finding someone to complete the hit. Bashara also paid him $2,000 of the promised $20,000 contract, according to MLive.
Bashara also asked for a receipt after leaving the down payment.
In October, Bashara told the court, "In June of 2012, I foolishly and regrettably offered to pay Steve Tibaudo to find someone to kill Joseph Gentz," according to Grosse Pointe Patch.
Neighbors of the commercial property Bashara owns, which holds Grosse Pointe's Hard Luck Lounge, told reporters that they had seen Bashara and other darkly-dressed visitors entering a basement apartment in the building. Sources told news outlets earlier this year that Bashara was operating a "sex dungeon."
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