BALDWIN PARK >> Authorities charged a 73-year-old man with solicitation of murder Thursday for allegedly offering to pay coworker at a Baldwin Park manufacturing facility to kill another coworker over workplace dispute.
Police arrested Ronald Herman Perfetto of Los Angeles Tuesday at a business in the 4700 block of Littlejohn Street, Baldwin Park police Lt. Doug Parnell said.
“Two separate employees told officers that (Perfetto) had offered them between $500 and $7,000, and a ‘clean gun,’ if they would kill another employee,” Baldwin Park police said in a written statement. “Officers learned the suspect had also inquired on how to withdraw money from his 401(k) plan.”
The company fired the suspect on the spot before police took him into custody, Parnell said.
A search of Perfetto’s home in the 1000 block of North Avenue 63 in Los Angeles lead to the recovery of 11 handguns, rifles and shotguns, police said. Investigators were looking into the registration of the weapons.
Perfetto was a longtime employee of the business, while the target of his alleged scheme was a man in his 30s with just a few years experience, Parnell said.
“The newer employee went to the boss with a new procedure or technique to improve efficiency. The employer liked it and implemented it,” the lieutenant said. “(Perfetto) felt slighted.”
Perfetto first offered the two coworkers $500 to carry out the hit, ultimately raising his bid to $7,000, Parnell said.
Prosecutors Thursday filed a charge of solicitation of murder against Perfetto, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Sarah Ardalani said.
He entered a not guilty plea and was ordered back to West Covina Superior Court for a preliminary hearing setting on July 30, she said.
According to Los Angeles County booking records, Perfetto is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.