NORCROSS, Ga. — Gwinnett County police said they foiled a murder-for-hire plot using a police informant who pretended to be a hit man.
Channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh spoke to the target of the plan Monday. Ali Jabreilli, 59, said it was the last thing he expected. He once considered the suspect to be a friend.
"I don't have no words for it," Jabreilli told Kavanaugh.
Gwinnett police made the arrest after the suspect and the informant met at a Norcross restaurant on Holcomb Bridge Road. Jabreilli said police called him Tuesday night, saying someone wanted him dead.
"They said he's supposed to have a contract on me. That's it," Jabreilli said. "He said, 'Don't worry. Just go hide somewhere. It's going to be over Friday.'"
The suspect is 65-year-old Moseph Memar, Jabreilli's former business associate.
"The fact that it would be done for a total of $3,000 was discussed. That was all clearly recorded by our informant," Gwinnett County police spokesman Jake Smith said.
Police said Memar gave their informant a $1,500 down payment during a meeting at the Norcross restaurant. Then, investigators turned to Jabreilli for help with the next step.
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"Well they tell me, 'Lay down on the ground. Take the picture.' Basically, that's it," Jabreilli said.
He said police photographed him on the ground, and a special investigator doctored the photo to make it appear that he was dead. Police said the informant showed the photo to Memar as evidence.
"In the wake of that meeting, our officers came in and placed our suspect under arrest," Smith said.
Jabreilli said Memar owed him a large amount of money, but he never expected the business dispute to escalate to that level. Memar was charged with criminal attempt to commit murder.
Jabreilli said it was the second time he's beaten the odds. Five years ago, he won a battle against cancer.