Frank Cipriani, 43, was free Thursday on $200,000 bond in a purported murder scheme that collapsed when his fake beard fell off during the menacing Aug. 17 incident. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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The U.S. Census Bureau worker donned a disguise, posed as a building inspector and pulled a gun on the unarmed man inside the target’s Bethesda, Md., home.
But when the fake facial hair slipped away, Cipriani panicked – and the intended victim bolted through the front door to safety.
Cipriani’s lawyer says his client clearly wasn’t rational when he arrived at the suburban home last month, and only intended to frighten his rival in the love triangle.
“This is, on some level, very crazy behavior,” defense attorney Philip Armstrong said in court. “I mean, he’s a responsible person with a responsible job.”
But prosecutors painted a more calculating picture of Cipriani, who was having an affair with one of his Census underlings.
The suspect initially tried to undermine the woman’s spouse by pretending to be a 15-year-old girl in a sexual relationship with the husband, authorities said.
When his e-mail to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children didn’t work, Cipriani decided to take matters into his own hands, officials said.
The Frederick, Md., man wanted the woman’s husband “out of the picture,” said Assistant State’s Attorney Stephen Chaiken.
Cipriani wrote up two “suicide notes” for his target, and managed to secure the man’s fingerprints during a party game at his home.
The suspect then lured the husband to the house by claiming he was a building inspector who needed to check out a remodeling project – and instructed the target to come alone.
“He lured a man to his almost death,” said Chaiken.
The married Cipriani blew his tearful wife a kiss at a hearing this week before his release. She blew the suspect a kiss in return.
Cipriani – charged with attempted murder – is a former New Jersey resident who attended Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J.
