By: Najla Alexander
NJ authorities announced that a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, man was convicted at trial for planning to kill multiple government officials.
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) stated that Stephen Smink, 62, of Philadelphia, was convicted on August 15 of one count of conspiracy to commit murder and five counts of attempted murder (all 1st degree), and conspiracy to transport weapons and transporting weapons (both 4th degree).
“This defendant planned to kill public servants for doing their jobs and putting him behind bars for crimes he previously committed,” said Attorney General Platkin.
DCJ Director Theresa L. Hilton said, “Protecting the public includes protecting the people who work every day to keep us all safe and hold criminals accountable.”
“This conviction sends a clear message: anyone who conspires to harm government officials will be brought to justice,” said Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.
Smink was convicted of conspiring with others from January 2018 to December 2020 to cause the death of Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae, First Assistant Prosecutor Harold Shapiro, two Superior Court judges, and an assistant prosecutor who was involved in his 2014 conviction for arson charges, according to NJ officials.
According to NJ AG officials, Smink, the former owner of a southern New Jersey bowling alley, was previously sentenced to serve 15 years in state prison for orchestrating a plan to burn down a rival bowling alley.
Two Philadelphia residents accused of starting the fire also pleaded guilty, NJ officials say.
In April 2019, NJ AG authorities said, while Smink was serving his sentence in Northern State Prison (Newark), the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) Central Security Unit (CSU) received information from the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (OHSP) that Smink had hired a cooperating witness in late 2017 and early 2018 to help Smink carry out a murder-for-hire plot.
The investigation revealed that Smink originally hired a member of the Latin Kings gang, who was also imprisoned, to carry out and execute the murders, NJ officials said.
NJ AG officials say the Latin Kings member died prior to carrying out any act for the murder-for-hire plot.
Smink then contracted with the cooperating witness to find a hitman as Smink oversaw the transfer of sports memorabilia to pay for the hits and directed his mother, Esther Smink (now deceased), to write correspondence in furtherance of the conspiracy on his behalf, according to NJ AG officials.
In a meeting with an undercover officer, Smink stated: “If everybody was together, wipe the whole place out and kill everybody, it just looks like somebody making an assault, a gang's meeting.” He also said, “If somebody shot up the place, it looks like the gang is getting retribution.”
NJ AG authorities said that the case was tried before Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Levin.
The charges resulted from a joint investigation between the New Jersey State Police Central Intelligence Unit and the New Jersey Department of Corrections SID, with assistance from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, NJ AG officials stated. 
Smink now faces a minimum of 30 years to life imprisonment, and will have to serve at least 30 years before being eligible for parole, NJ officials say. The state was represented by Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Parvin, Deputy Attorney General Veronica Daddario, and Deputy Attorney General Amie Hyde.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 26, 2025.