Dec 2, 2008 6:52 pm US/Eastern
Perez-Olivo Gets 25 Years For Wife's Murder
Former Clinton Neighbor To Spend Next Quarter-Century In Prison
WHITE PLAINS (CBS) ―
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Carlos Perez-Olivo listens as he is sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder of his wife.
CBS
The Chappaqua man convicted of murdering his wife after staging a carjacking off the side of Route 100 in Millwood in 2006 was sentenced to 25 years to life behind prison for the crime on Tuesday.
Carlos Perez-Olivo, 60, had nothing to say in his own defense before Judge Barbara Zambelli handed down the maximum sentence with these harsh words: "The defendant is a master of deceit who contrived a diabolical plan to murder his wife for his own financial gain."
The plan involved the Nov. 18, 2006 shooting of Peggy Perez-Olivo. The motive: $900,000 in life insurance.
Last month, in an exclusive jailhouse interview, Perez-Olivo stuck by his claim that an unknown carjacker shot his wife.
But the jury found Perez-Olivo shot her in the head and himself in the stomach as part of a cover-up.
The Perez-Olivos had lived just down the street from Bill and Hillary Clinton.
The couple's three children still support their father. Their oldest son, Carlitos, held back tears as a letter from the siblings was read to the judge.
"We believe our father is innocent. We love him and we want him back in our lives. To extend his sentence is to directly extend the pain we live with and experience every day," they wrote.
But Prosecutor Perry Perrone said the children's pain is their father's fault.
"He is the reason why his children have no parents. The evidence in this case was overwhelming, it was powerful, and it was compelling," said Perrone.
The key evidence in the case was a the gun used to kill Mrs. Perez-Olivo, a Walther PPK handgun that dives found in Echo Lake near the site of the shooting. A witness saw Perez-Olivo holding it just months before the murder.
Perez-Olivo had admitted to cheating on his wife, and his ex-mistress even took the stand at his trial. He was disbarred as a lawyer three years ago and claims one of his ex-clients was behind the attack.
The defense lawyer says Perez-Olivo was angry and disappointed, but not surprised at receiving the maximum sentence. Perez-Olivo will file an appeal in the next few weeks, seeking to overturn the guilty verdict and win a new trial.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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