Michael Nocera (Photo: Ocean County Jail)
A local man facing a litany of sex offenses has added a new charge: murder for hire.
Michael Nocera, 43, of Beachwood, was already facing charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child between 13 and 16 years of age, invasion of privacy without consent and endangering the welfare of a child. According to prosecutors, the investigation into the murder-for-hire charges began in late December, when the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office was made aware that Nocera, an inmate at the Ocean County Jail, “had conversations expressing his wish that his attorney be killed,” a statement said.
With the help of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crimes Unit, brought in to confirm and immortalize Nocera’s murder solicitations, Nocera stated in a recorded conversation that he wanted his attorney kidnapped, driven to a wooded area and shot in the head, the statement said. He “provided additional instructions for the disposal of the body, requesting victim be burned and his remains disposed of in a body of water.”
Nocera was offering a payment of $30,000 in exchange for the hit.
Nocera is now facing an additional charge of conspiracy to commit murder. The name of the attorney was not divulged.
