Murder-for-hire middle man misses sentencing

Greg Risling

A 60-year-old man who coordinated a plot to hurt the former son-in-law of

a Lido Isle woman missed his court sentencing last week because he was

hospitalized in Mexico, recovering from a heart attack.

Raymond Maciejczak pleaded guilty in May for his role in a

murder-for-hire scheme that fell apart. Maciejczak faced a maximum of

four years in state prison, but he didn’t show up for his final court

date in Santa Ana Aug. 18.

Defense attorney Thomas Tears told Superior Court Judge Stephen Perk that

Maciejczak was recovering in a Tijuana hospital. Perk wasn’t satisfied

with the excuse and issued a $100,000 arrest warrant.

Deputy District Attorney John Anderson said he is suspicious about the

defendant’s sudden medical misfortune and his whereabouts.

“I expressed a lot of skepticism, given the man’s background,” Anderson

said. “Well, if he does come back, there’s an arrest warrant for him.”

Tears couldn’t be reached for further comment on his hospitalized client

Monday.

Maciejczak was considered the middle man in a plot to hurt or possibly

kill David Leland of Capitola, Calif. Leland was the former son-in-law of

68-year-old Lido Isle resident Mae Miner. Leland was embroiled in a

custody battle with Miner’s daughter over the couple’s two children.

Miner knew Maciejczak through his ostrich meat business, in which she

invested $70,000 to $80,000. She reportedly asked Maciejczak to find

someone who could get Leland “out of her life.” Maciejczak found

60-year-old Patrick O’Neill, a convicted felon, who was willing to

perform the job.

Somewhere along the way, Miner’s wishes may have gotten lost in the

translation. O’Neill went to Capitola in August of 1987 with a loaded,

inoperable handgun that had been planted by a police informant. O’Neill

was arrested, and police found a piece of paper with Leland’s address in

his car.

Maciejczak met with Miner a year later, with police taping the

conversation. Both conspirators were arrested by Costa Mesa police.

Miner pleaded guilty last November. She is finishing up a one-year

sentence under house arrest. O’Neill also pleaded guilty and was

sentenced to 10 years in state prison.

As for Maciejczak’s sudden departure, it is unclear whether he will

recover and return back to the United States. Anderson hopes to see the

defendant in court to own up to his role in the scheme.

“I think -- between Miner and Maciejczak -- that he was the one who

instigated this,” Anderson said. “He’s the one who got this whole

snowball rolling.”