CHICAGO (AP) -- A woman who stole a rare Italian viola from a junk dealer, conspired to have him murdered and later married him has been sentenced to two years in federal prison.
Wednesday's sentence ended a strange saga that went awry when Quintella Benson and her co-conspirator hired an undercover FBI agent masquerading as a professional killer to bump off Boisie Watson.Benson, 35, pleaded guilty to federal murder conspiracy charges last August. She could have been sentenced to five years in prison but got a break from U.S. District Judge William Hart, who noted that she helped prosecutors to gather evidence against her co-conspirator, Robert Heiss.
The 274-year-old Dom Nicolo Amati viola belonged to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. It had been left on the sidewalk by one of the musicians and purchased by Watson for $90 at a flea market.
Benson, then Watson's common-law wife, admitted stealing the instrument from under Watson's bed and giving it to Heiss, who took it to a dealer for appraisal. The dealer recognized it as the symphony's and called the police.
Benson and Heiss admitted planning to hire a hit man to kill Watson and his business partner. Benson and Watson have reconciled and are now married.