The Brooklyn man who is accused of setting a plan in motion to kill his ex-friend, involving casual threesomes, sexting, and hitmen-for-hire, is currently being held without bail on Riker's Island. Ragene Powell-Dickerson claims he's innocent, and in a jailhouse interview with the News today, he stumbles upon what is sure to be the new go-to excuse for any defendant: "Why would I do that to my close friend? That's not my M.O. I'm a tax-paying citizen." more ›

Nothing livens up a gray Friday afternoon like a busted sex trafficking ring involving the FBI, a Russians call-girls, and a murder-for-hire scheme. Police arrested alleged pimp Salah Youssef, 37, and assistant Victoriya Makogonyuk, 18, and accused them of running a call-girl ring out of Astoria. In addition, Youssef is accused of trying to get revenge on an associate who owed him money by hiring a friend to either accuse the associate of rape or murder him. more ›

An ex-model from Staten Island has been charged with attempting to hire a hit man to kill two doctors who she believes caused her father's death. Unfortunately for her, that "hit man" turned out to be an undercover FBI officer. According to the criminal complaint, Morena Costello, either 38 or 46, paid the officer $400 and told him that "she wanted them 'to suffer like her father suffered.'" To clarify, she "picked up her father's death certificate, pointing to the word 'Death,' and asked, 'Can you read this part right here?'" more ›

Here's today's second instance of Asian weaponry used in a potential crime: A Brooklyn resident was arrested for plotting his wife's murder. The police are pretty sure Rockefeller Auguste was trying to kill his wife because he paid $5,000 to an undercover cop posing as a hit man. Captain James Coan explained, "He felt he had been wronged, and he wanted the 'hit man' he hired to follow his exact instructions - and gave him a samurai sword to be sure." According to the Daily News, Auguste "roughed up" his wife because he thought she was cheating, and when she "reported him for domestic abuse, and Auguste became enraged that she would turn on him." Auguste had requested that the "hit man" bring back her ring as proof she was dead. The wife has gone into hiding. more ›

Police officials said that murder suspect Carlos Cruz told them was upset his on-off girlfriend was seeing other people, setting into motion a plan to kill her on a deserted Bronx street. Cruz allegedly said of Chelsea Frazier, "She was lying about what she was doing and she betrayed me." more ›

Families of a murder victim and her ex-fiance are reeling from the revelation the ex-fiance and his cousin were behind the killing. Carlos Cruz, 36, admitted to paying his cousin $1,000 to kill his 18-year-old girlfriend, Chelsea Frazier, on a deserted Bronx street and stage it to look like a robbery, all in front of their 1-year-old son. more ›