Man pleads guilty in 2014 killing of N.J. political operative Michael Galdieri, but motive remains a mystery

A career criminal whose lengthy rap sheet includes bank robberies, a murder conspiracy and a jailbreak plot pleaded guilty Thursday to killing a political consultant in exchange for money in 2014, adding another chapter to a case that has roiled New Jersey politics.

Appearing by videoconference from a jail in New York — where he is awaiting sentencing on a bank robbery in Connecticut — 73-year-old George Bratsenis said he and another man accepted thousands of dollars from another political consultant, Sean Caddle, in exchange for killing Michael Galdieri. Galdieri was stabbed to death in his Jersey City apartment, which was then set on fire.

Caddle pleaded guilty in January but didn't explain why he wanted his onetime friend dead.