Philadelphia Woman Sentenced For Kidnap Attempt: Husband's, And Her Own
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - It began as a marital dispute. Now, a 35-year-old Philadelphia woman has been sentenced to prison for a desperate, dangerous, and ill-conceived plot to get money from her estranged husband.
Defendant Yudelka Valdez plotted a kidnapping for ransom, but didn't realize she was dealing with undercover agents.
"She contracted with federal agents to have him and her kidnapped in order to extract funds from him to support her in the style to which she thought she was entitled," says federal prosecutor Paul Shapiro.
Her style included a Mercedes-Benz. And Valdez even got the down payment for expenses for the kidnappers from her husband, whom she alleges was a drug dealer. Authorities say he has not been located.
Defense attorney Peter Bowers says the woman's plot was out of character, that Valdez was not thinking right. "She hatched a foolish plan," he told KYW Newsradio this morning. "Foolish things happen when people go through marital stress."
The judge ordered 11 months in prison followed by three years' probation, and warned Valdez, who has a teenage daughter, "Don't come back."
Reported by Tony Hanson, KYW Newsradio 1060
