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Father Tried To Hire Hitman To Kill Witnesses Against His Son: Prosecutors

By Kyla Gardner | October 17, 2013 5:37pm
 Eurpedes "Caca" Caguana, 59, was charged with federal murder-for-hire for trying to put a hit on witnesses set to testify against his son, officials said.
Eurpedes "Caca" Caguana, 59, was charged with federal murder-for-hire for trying to put a hit on witnesses set to testify against his son, officials said.
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CHICAGO — A father tried to hire a hitman to take out two witnesses set to testify against his son for murder, officials said Thursday.

The hitman, however, was an undercover FBI agent.

Euripedes "Caca" Caguana, 59, wanted the two witnesses killed as soon as Saturday, as they were scheduled to testify Oct. 23 against his son, who is in jail awaiting trial on murder charges, federal prosecutors said. Caguana allegedly offered $7,500 for the job.

Police attempted to record a conversation about the hits between Caguana and a police informant Tuesday, but the wire the informant was wearing malfunctioned, and the evidence wasn't obtained, documents said.

Wednesday, the informant called Caguana and urged him to meet with a hitman to arrange the murders.

Caguana met with the informant and an undercover agent — posing as the hitman — near Chase Park at Ashland and Leland Avenues in Ravenswood about 11 a.m. Wednesday, officials said.

Cauguana, whose home address was not released, told them one of the witnesses lives next door to him, and he knew at what times he regularly left his home. He also had photos of the two men and surveillance notes of their activities.

He mentioned several times during the meeting that he wanted the two men "done," court documents say.

The informant clarified with Caguana at one point, "You want these guys dead?" to which Caguana allegedly responded, "Oh, don't say that out loud."

After the meeting, Caguana was arrested and charged with federal murder-for-hire. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.