Man Pleads Guilty To Soliciting Hitman To Kill Estate Executor

WHEATON, Ill. (CBS) -- A 73-year-old man from Naperville's far west side faces up to five years in prison, for trying to hire someone to maim or kill an estate executor he believed was withholding a $100,000 inheritance from him.

Ladislav C. "Laddie" Fromelius is free on bond and awaiting sentencing. He pleaded guilty Thursday in DuPage County Circuit Court to a felony charge of solicitation to commit armed violence, said Paul Darrah, spokesman for State's Attorney Robert B. Berlin.

Fromelius last lived on the 1500 block of Watkins Lane in Naperville's Prairie Lakes area. Darrah said he tried to hire a hitman to, in his words, "eliminate" the estate executor in a dispute over a $100,000 inheritance he felt he was due.

Lisle police arrested Fromelius on Sept. 21, 2010, following a two-month investigation.

Police in 2010 said Fromelius arranged to hire a man who was actually an undercover police officer. Fromelius paid $1,000 to the officer, with the understanding an additional $1,000 would be paid after the estate executor had been harmed.

After his arrest, police searched two of Fromelius' residences, from which they confiscated numerous firearms and other weapons.

Fromelius is scheduled to appear Oct. 24 in court for a presentencing hearing in Judge George J. Bakalis' courtroom.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)