Valerie Cincinelli: The police officer who tried to kill her husband
Cops Gone BadInstead of upholding law and order, NYPD officer Valerie Cincinelli chose a cunningly disorderly path when she attempted to have her ex-husband killed.
In May 2019, the ex-police officer was charged with plotting to have her ex-husband murdered by a hitman. According to reports, Cincinelli wanted to give her then-boyfriend, John DiRubba, $7,000 in gold coins to hire a hitman to do the deed. However, things did not go according to plan.
Who was Valerie Cincinelli? And why did she want her ex-husband dead? Is there more to the story?
Join us at Crime+Investigation as we examine the convicted ex-officer and the story surrounding her case.
The background
Valerie Cincinelli was a police officer who joined the NYPD in 2007 and served for over a decade, primarily in Queens.
While she was married to her estranged husband, Isaiah Carvalho, she met John DiRubba. DiRubba was living in Queens and they started dating in 2017, the same time she was going through a bitter divorce with Carvalho.
Although their relationship was strong initially, the pair hit a rocky patch and it has also been claimed that Cincinelli was jealous of DiRubba’s teenage daughter and the extravagant gifts he used to give her.
A confidential source
But why did Valerie Cincinelli want to kill Isaiah Carvalho? According to prosecutors, Cincinelli was worried that her estranged husband would receive her pension. The divorce took much longer than expected, and Cincinelli was angry. Very angry.
She was so angry about the situation that she suggested to DiRubba several times that it would be easier to have her husband killed. However, the conversation changed when Cincinelli wanted DiRubba to run down his daughter.
'When she threw my daughter into the mix …'
From then on, things started to change for DiRubba. Instead of playing along with Cincinelli's murder-for-hire plot, he became a confidential source for the police.
FBI agent or hitman?
After several months of important intel from DiRubba, the FBI crafted an elaborate sting operation to charge the ex-officer.
Cincinelli allegedly paid DiRubba $7,000 to hire a hitman to kill her husband in February 2019.
Just before her arrest in May 2019, the police visited her at home in Long Island to falsely report Isiah Carvalho’s murder — insinuating that her nasty plan had actually occurred.
But how did they convince the suspect that her husband was dead?
An FBI agent posed as the ‘hitman’ and sent text messages and photos to DiRubba, showing Carvalho’s alleged lifeless body in his car.
Reports suggest that Cincinelli wanted the murders to take place in a bad part of town to avoid suspicion. It was also claimed that DiRubba’s daughter was to be shot near her school in New Jersey. Both parties were unharmed.
'Run her the f--- over. How about that?' was a transcript recorded from the suspect’s phone.
The conviction
After Cincinelli was advised of Carvalho’s fake death, she called DiRubba and told him: 'The hitman did it.'
DiRubba was recording their calls, which later ensured her arrest.
Valerie Cincinelli pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice in April 2021. She received a four-year sentence.
At the plea hearing, Cincinelli told the court: 'I deleted images on an iPhone with the intent to obstruct a federal grand jury investigation into the murder for hire.'
She said, 'I know what I did was wrong,' she said when she entered her plea. 'I’m truly sorry, Your Honor.'
Although Cincinelli was sentenced to four years in prison, she was eligible for home confinement 6 months after sentencing for good behaviour. Enraging her ex-husband, who believes it’s a 'free pass' for her. He told news outlets that he 'truly believes she will find someone to finish the job [when she gets out].'
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