Casefile True Crime - Case 145: Michael Dippolito

Episode Date: June 6, 2020

On the morning of August 5 2009, 26-year-old Dalia Dippolito was working out when she received a voicemail from a detective at the Boynton Beach Police Department. He instructed Dalia to return to her home immediately, saying, “It involves your husband. There’s been an incident. I’ll tell you everything you need to know when you get here.” --- Episode narrated by the Anonymous Host Researched by Holly Boyd Written by Elsha McGill Creative Director: Milly Raso For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-145-michael-dippolito

Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. Newlyweds, Dahlia and Michael DiPolito lived in the newly developed community of Renaissance Commons in Boynton Beach, a coastal city in Palm Beach County, Florida. They had recently purchased a modern three-story townhouse on a palm tree-lined street named Via de Pepe, which overlooked several canals and waterways.

The beach was just a 10-minute drive away, and there were a number of restaurants, shops and cafes nearby, making the location well-suited to the couple's active Cosmopolitan lifestyle. 26-year-old Dahlia had recently announced she was pregnant with their first baby, and the area was ideal for raising a child. On the morning of August 5, 2009, Dahlia arose early to start her day with a workout at the local gym. 38-year-old Michael usually joined her, as Dahlia didn't like going alone, but two weeks earlier he had undergone liposuction on his lower back and was experiencing complications

from the procedure that left him mostly bedridden. Dahlia promised to stop at Starbucks to pick up a coffee for Michael on her way home. Just before 6 a.m., she left the house in her husband's Chevy Tahoe SUV and drove to the L.A. fitness gym one mile from their home. At 6.33 a.m., while at the gym, Dahlia noticed a missed call on her mobile phone from an unknown number. The caller had left a voice message 12 minutes earlier, stating, �This is Sergeant Frank Ranzy, Boynton Beach Police Department, Detective Division.

I need you to call me as soon as you can, ma'am. It's urgent. Thank you.� Dahlia called Sergeant Ranzy back, and he instructed her to return to her residence immediately, saying, �It involves your husband. There's been an incident. I'll tell you everything you need to know when you get here.� Dahlia quickly left the gym and made her way home. As she turned into Veya Depepe, she found the street was a buzz with police cars and

camera crews. Her property was cordoned off with crime scene tape, and its front door was wide open and covered with fingerprint powder, as forensic investigators milled about taking photographs. Sergeant Ranzy informed Dahlia that there had been reports of a disturbance with shots being fired, and that her husband Michael had been killed. Dahlia burst into tears and cried out no repeatedly, collapsing into Sergeant Ranzy�s arms. As he attempted to calm her down, she begged to be taken to Michael�s body. Her officer escorted the distraught Dahlia into a police vehicle to be taken to the

station, so that she could assist with their investigation. Michael Dipolito was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 18, 1970. Both of his parents struggled with the drug addiction, which led to Michael being raised by his grandparents. Michael developed his own substance abuse problems during early adolescence, and at the age of 15 he was admitted to a rehab facility. Following his release, he maintained sobriety for five and a half years, and worked as a night counselor at the same treatment center where he�d received help.

He relapsed in his early 20s, and spent the next few years in and out of rehab, and began dealing crack cocaine. Dahlia eventually relocated to Florida and began working as a telemarketer for several different companies. His job involved cold-calling potential investors to sell gold coins and foreign currency. A natural salesman, Michael thrived in this line of work, at one point earning around $200,000 in an 18-month period. However, the sales were a scam in which the telemarketing companies were keeping their

clients investment money. When the scams inevitably fell apart, Michael set up a cold-calling scheme of his own. In 2002, he was arrested and later convicted of unlicensed telemarketing, communications fraud, and grant theft, and was sentenced to two years in prison. He was released in 2005, with an extended probationary period of 28 years, and ordered to pay a total of $219,000 in restitution to his victims. A payment schedule was set up, in which Michael would contribute monthly installments over the course of his 28-year probation.

He was also required to report to his parole officer once a month to provide details regarding where he was living, who he was living with, what car he was driving, and how much income he'd made. His home and vehicle could be searched without prior warning at any time, and he was forbidden from leaving Palm Beach County in southeastern Florida without obtaining prior approval from the parole office. Upon his release from prison, Michael moved in with his girlfriend, Maria. He immediately started using drugs again, which prompted Maria to end their relationship.

Determined to get sober once and for all, Michael stopped using, and began attending support meetings and counselling. He secured a job at an online marketing company, and reconciled with Maria, and the two were married in July of 2007. Afraid of ever returning to prison, Michael cooperated with his parole conditions and maintained his sobriety. He developed a stable routine, starting each morning with an early session at the gym before heading off to work.

In late 2007, he started his own online marketing company, Mad Media, which sold ad banners and search engine optimization services to help clients direct more traffic to their websites. The company's initial success was hindered by the global financial crisis of 2008, but Mad Media turned a decent profit regardless, and afforded Michael a comfortable lifestyle that catered to his expensive tastes. By October of 2008, his marriage had started crumbling. Maria was out of town when a colleague introduced him to eros.com, a website that advertised sex work services.

As detailed in the book Poison Candy by Elizabeth Parker, Michael contacted a sex worker named Dahlia Muhammad, and the two organised to meet that evening. Michael was immediately attracted to Dahlia, who was the daughter of Peruvian and Egyptian parents. She was born in New York, but raised in Boynton Beach along with her younger brother and sister. Her parents had divorced when she was 17, after which she lost contact with her father, but maintained a close relationship with her mother, two siblings, and her mother's extended family. At the age of 19, Dahlia started sex work, and spent several years running massage parlours

in South Florida and California. She was also a licensed real estate agent, and worked part-time as a realtor. Michael and Dahlia had a lot in common, and instantly hit it off. Michael employed her services again the following day, and Dahlia chose to spend the night free of charge. The pair commenced a whirlwind romance, and at the end of October, Michael filed to divorce Maria. Two months later, he spontaneously proposed to Dahlia.

She happily accepted, and Michael bought her a $26,000 diamond engagement ring to make it official. Michael's divorce from Maria was finalized on January 28, 2009. That same day, he withdrew $238,000 in cash from his safety deposit box, and used it to purchase the Renaissance Commons Townhouse for himself, Dahlia, and their two dogs. Dahlia was the realtor responsible for the transaction, and also received a commission for the sale. Five days later, the couple were married in a registry office ceremony.

Michael started running his business from home, while Dahlia mostly lived a life of leisure, leaving to show houses a few times a week. The Dippalitos spent weekends visiting one another's families, watching movies, and going to the beach. They dreamed of traveling, but were restricted by the terms of Michael's probation, which became a source of much frustration. In early 2009, the couple began having a number of brushes with the law, which added to their grievances.

In early March, Michael's probation officer received three anonymous phone calls from a concerned neighbor, who claimed that Michael was dealing steroids and ecstasy from his townhouse. A team of ten officers searched the Dippalitos' home, but found nothing to support the claim. On March 16, police received an anonymous phone call from a woman who reported someone was dealing drugs out of a grey Chevy Tahoe SUV in the parking lot of the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Manalapan, roughly six miles from the Dippalitos' home. Police were dispatched to the area, where they learned that the vehicle belonged to Michael Dippalito, who had spent the weekend at the hotel with Dahlia.

Michael insisted he had nothing to hide and permitted the police to search his car, where they found nothing of interest. On March 29, a specialist narcotics team was dispatched to the City Place Shopping Center in West Palm Beach. They had received an anonymous tip-off that a large amount of drugs were being held in a Chevy Tahoe SUV parked in the mall's underground garage. Michael had parked his car there while he went shopping at the center with Dahlia. When the couple returned to the Chevy and learned of the tip-off, Michael became visibly

upset but was polite and cooperative. With the help of a specially trained police dog, the narcotics team found a cigarette box underneath the vehicle's spare tire, which held a small amount of cocaine. In Florida, possession of cocaine is a felony offense, making the discovery an automatic violation of Michael's probation. He broke down in tears, telling police he had been sober for six years and had no idea the cocaine was there. Offering a possible explanation, he said his ex-wife Maria may have planted the drugs

in a bid to get him in trouble given their recent divorce. Officer Mary Hooper, who was leading the search, believed Michael was being sincere, later stating, As a matter of fact, I thought he was just as shocked as we were when we found it. Subsequently, Michael was free to go. Four days later, two officers from the Boynton Beach Police Department were dispatched to the Dipolitos home after receiving an anonymous call from a neighbor who claimed the couple had been yelling all night.

Earlier that morning, the neighbors stated they had seen Michael drag Dahlia inside by the hair. They could still hear banging coming from the townhouse and feared for Dahlia's safety. Officers arrived at the scene and separated the Dipolitos in order to question them individually. Both confirmed they had argued about money the previous night, but denied a physical altercation had taken place. As the officers didn't notice any injuries on Dahlia and nothing seemed out of place, they left the property.

It was later that night that Dahlia told Michael she was expecting their first child. One month later, on May 1, 2009, Dahlia told Michael that she had received a strange phone call from someone named Detective Hurley of the Boynton Beach Police Department who told her that he knew what she'd been doing and that she should, quote, confess to her husband. Shaken, the couple immediately went to the police station to confront Detective Hurley, only to be told that no one by that name existed. Although they were confused, they dismissed the call as a prank. Four weeks later, the Dipolitos returned to Michael's car after a workout at LA Fitness

and found a note on his windscreen that read, Bring $40,000, 9.30am, back to this space and put it under the car behind you. Do not tell anyone, especially your wife. I will tell you all that has happened to you, is happening to you, and what will happen on Friday. Tell no one, come alone. The note was signed from someone who will help you and included a phone number with a Miami area code.

When Dahlia called the number, a woman answered and threatened to kill both her and her husband. The Dipolitos reported the incident to police and were so worried that they considered getting a guard dog for protection. Michael was eager to be free of his probation once and for all. He hired a lawyer who successfully brokered an agreement that his probation would be terminated if he could pay the remaining $191,000 he owed in restitution. Dahlia offered to contribute $91,000 and Michael paid her the remaining $100,000 so that she could transfer the full amount to his lawyer in one transaction.

Dahlia provided Michael with a receipt confirming the transfer had been made via an account in the Cayman Islands, but the receipt also showed the transaction had been reversed. Michael asked Dahlia to sort it out, and a week later, she gave him a cashier's check for the entire $191,000. The check was written from the account of Eric Tao, who was Dahlia's friend's husband. Dahlia explained to Michael that it was quicker for Eric to write the check instead of waiting for the reversed transaction from the Cayman Islands to clear. The Dipolitos took the check to Michael's lawyer, but as they were about to hand it

over, Dahlia suddenly snatched it back, saying she wanted her $91,000 contribution returned. Desperate to have the issue resolved, Michael drove to his safety deposit box and withdrew the last of his money, which amounted to $140,000 in cash and cashier's checks. He gave Dahlia $91,000 cash in exchange for the restitution check. However, when he took the check to his lawyer's office, they discovered it had been changed to just $191. Michael called Dahlia, who explained she had met Eric Tao for lunch and he must have somehow switched the checks while they were eating.

She returned the cash Michael had given her. Eric agreed to cut another check for the total restitution amount of $191,000 in exchange for Michael's entire savings of $140,000. Michael would then repay Eric the remaining $51,000 plus interest via a series of installments. The Dipolitos returned to Michael's lawyer's office with Eric's new check, only to be informed that another attorney had just sent a fax advising there was a lion over Michael's townhouse that gave Eric rightful possession of the property until Michael had cleared his debt. Frustrated by the ongoing complexities in what was supposed to be a simple and straightforward

job, the lawyer fired Michael as a client. Michael met with a new lawyer that same afternoon, but as the check was made out to the previous law firm, his new lawyer was unable to accept it. Eric said that he couldn't draw a new check as his accounts had been frozen due to his recent unusually high activity. He promised to have a new check delivered as soon as his accounts were back in action, but Michael never heard from him again. Eric later denied ever receiving any money from Michael, aside from $30,000 in cash

years checks, which he claimed to have returned to Dahlia. On April 2, Michael considered selling the townhouse to pay his restitution money, but Dahlia was against the idea, telling Michael they had bigger things to worry about now that she was pregnant. Dahlia spent the next few months preparing for the baby by reading parenting books, debating possible names, and attending regular doctor's appointments. To move past their money and trust issues, the Dippalitos also started seeing a marriage counsellor.

On July 22, Dahlia told Michael that a friend had recommended a lawyer who could help him get on to administrative probation while he was waiting to pay off his restitution. If successful, this meant he would no longer have to check in with his probation officer on a regular basis. Michael spoke with the lawyer, who suggested he sign his townhouse into someone else's name in case it had an effect on the administrative probation decision. On July 31, Michael signed the property over to Dahlia. The Dippalitos' convening attorney advised that although Dahlia was now the sole owner,

Florida's homestead laws meant Michael would still be required to sign off on any sale of the property. After being plagued by problems since the start of their marriage, it appeared as though the couple's issues might finally be over. Less than a week later, on the morning of August 5, 2009, Dahlia was informed of Michael's murder. Looking visibly distraught, she was driven to the Boynton Beach Police Department to help with the investigation.

Along the way, the detectives explained all they knew so far was that gunshots had been heard and a black man was witnessed running away from the crime scene. Dahlia said there had been a lot of black people visiting their predominantly white neighbourhood recently and recounted a couple of strange occurrences. At the police station, head of the major cases unit, Sergeant Paul Sheridan, took Dahlia into an interview room and asked if she knew anyone who would want to kill her husband. She explained that Michael was a recovering drug addict and alcoholic and an ex-con who still owed some people money.

He was also due to testify at several upcoming fraud cases and owed his silent business partner at Mad Media $40,000. Michael had been bragging that his probation was ending soon, and Dahlia said this might have upset some of his former telemarketing cohorts who weren't offered the same flexibility. She claimed that one had approached Michael a few months earlier to make some kind of a demand, but she wasn't sure of the details. Sergeant Sheridan informed Dahlia that Michael had let the killer into their house and was then shot twice in their bedroom.

Dahlia was surprised, responding that Michael wouldn't open the door for someone he didn't know. Sergeant Sheridan then left the room to get more information from officers at the scene. He returned minutes later with a handcuffed black male, whom he said had been seen running from the Dipolito's property that morning. When asked if she recognized the man, Dahlia said she had never seen him before. The handcuffed man was then led out of the room. Sergeant Sheridan silently stared at Dahlia for several seconds and then informed her,

You're going to jail today for solicitation for murder. You're under arrest. For the past eight years, Dahlia had been having an on-and-off affair with 29-year-old married convenience store owner Mohamed Shahada. At the time of her marriage to Michael Dipolito in February of 2009, she and Mohamed had taken a break from their relationship. On March 17, two days after Michael's car was searched at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Dahlia reached out to the now separated Mohamed and told him that her new husband was abusive.

Dahlia gave her the phone number of a police officer named Robert Wilson, whom Dahlia contacted. She explained that her husband was violent and that she feared for her life. As Dahlia was outside of Officer Wilson's jurisdiction, he told her she would have to report her concerns to the Boynton Beach Police Department if she wanted to launch a domestic abuse investigation. The following day, Dahlia and Mohamed met up for the first time since her marriage to Michael. She surprised him with a gift of a $38,000 Range Rover, which she had paid for in cash. Dahlia registered the vehicle in Mohamed's name, confessing that she had used some of

Michael's restitution money to pay for it. At the same time, she asked if Mohamed could help her obtain a fake Western Union slip through the money service he ran at his convenience store. He refused, as he was ordered a monthly by the Inland Revenue Service. Instead, he helped Dahlia create an artificial receipt using a bank wire form that had been faxed from a bank in the Cayman Islands. In late March, Dahlia and Mohamed met at Urban Ware, a clothing store in Riviera Beach owned by Mohamed's cousin.

The store was frequented by members of the Buck Wilde gang, an organised crime group known to terrorise the area. Dahlia loudly asked if Mohamed knew anyone who could kill her husband, and some of the gang members overheard and offered their services. Dahlia offered to pay a large sum of cash or hand over Mohamed's new Range Rover in return. She then got into a car with some of the gang members and drove them past her townhouse to show them where she lived.

Given there were a number of cameras, motion detectors and alarms throughout the neighbourhood, the Buck Wilde gang deduced it would be a difficult job to pull off. A few days later, Mohamed received a phone call from one of the gang members who asked if Dahlia was legitimate. Mohamed warned them not to take the job, as Dahlia was already speaking to a police officer regarding her violent husband, and it was therefore too risky. The gang backed off, and Mohamed sold the Range Rover back to the dealership, afraid that it would make him too conspicuous to the gang.

He used the money from the sale to pay for his divorce lawyer, and took his daughter to Israel for a holiday. When he returned on June 20, 2009, he met up with Dahlia, who revealed that she had attempted to have Michael's probation violated by planting drugs in his car when they were staying at the Ritz Carton Hotel. She had hidden the drugs in his gas cap, and then called the police, but they didn't find them during their search. She also told Mohamed she was trying to figure out how to get the townhouse signed into her

name. On July 31, the two met at a mobile gas station, where Dahlia asked if Mohamed would kill her husband. He flatly refused. He then left her in the car alone for a minute, and when he returned, he noticed the Glock semi-automatic firearm he kept in his glove box was missing. He asked Dahlia if she took it, but she denied doing so, before handing the gun over and saying she'd taken it as a joke.

It was at this point that Mohamed realized she was serious about wanting her husband to dead. The following day, Mohamed agreed to see Dahlia again at the same mobile gas station. Sitting together in Mohamed's car, he asked why she wanted to go through with having Michael murdered. Dahlia responded that it had nothing to do with the money, but was about, quote, his fucking friends and all that other shit. When Mohamed asked if anyone would suspect that Dahlia was behind the murder, she replied,

Why me? Like, do you know what fucking killing somebody is? Nobody's gonna be able to point a finger at me. Mohamed then offered to put Dahlia in touch with a former military hitman who was an illegal immigrant with nothing to lose. He explained that she would need to provide the hitman with a clear photo of Michael, as well as $1,200 to buy a gun. Dahlia agreed, saying she wanted the hit completed by Wednesday, August 5.

Mohamed reassured her it would be done by then, as the hitman was scheduled to fly to Costa Rica on Thursday, August 6. Dahlia counted out $1,200 from a wad of cash she had in her handbag and handed it to Mohamed. She also offered to give him $20,000 once the hit was done. She took a bundle of photographs from her bag and handed over a photo of the townhouse and an individual shot of Michael. Dahlia then demanded, quote, When she asked if Mohamed was sure that everything was okay, he stated,

No, I'm not sure, because you're planning a murder. In response, Dahlia told him to smile. What Dahlia didn't know was that after she had first asked Mohamed to kill Michael, he had gone to the Boynton Beach Police Department to report that he was having an affair with the woman who was threatening to kill her husband. As Mohamed was unsure of Dahlia's new married name, address, or any details about Michael, the police doubted his story. They only agreed to investigate on the condition that Mohamed act as a confidential informant.

He was concerned that he would be outed as a snitch to the Buck Wilde gang, but he eventually succumbed to the pressure to cooperate. The detectives wanted Mohamed to wear a wire to his meeting with Dahlia on August 1, but he said it would be risky as she would likely perform oral sex on him. Instead, detectives fitted Mohamed's vehicle with a pinhole video camera and a covert listening device, which allowed them to hear the conversation in real time. They recorded Dahlia as she agreed to Mohamed's offer to hire a former military hitman and handed over the photographs and initial payment.

This meeting also provided police with the opportunity to run Dahlia's license plates through their system in order to confirm her husband's identity. On Monday, August 3, an undercover officer from Boynton Beach Police Department's community action team called Dahlia to pose as the hitman. Officer Widdie Jean was selected for the role because he was a black man with cornrows in his hair, which likely matched the image Dahlia had of a hitman, based on her previous encounters with the Buck Wilde gang. Officer Jean told Dahlia he was driving up from Miami and would call again to arrange

a place to meet once he was closer. He also requested an upfront payment of $3,000 as well as a key to Dahlia's house. After the call ended, Dahlia phoned Mohamed to complain about the increased fee and said she was worried the hitman would rob her house. Shortly after 4pm, Officer Jean called Dahlia and asked her to meet him in the parking lot of a CVS pharmacy on North Military Trail in West Palm Beach. Unbeknownst to her, his red Chrysler convertible was fitted with audio and video recording devices and being surveilled by a team of officers.

Mohamed and Dahlia drove to the meeting spot and Dahlia got in to Officer Jean's convertible while Mohamed waited outside the car. Officer Jean asked Dahlia for the money, her house key and alarm codes. She told him she didn't bring any cash with her and would have to pay after the hit was done. Officer Jean agreed but increased the price to $7,000. Dahlia assured him she was good for the money because, quote, that's the kind of person I am.

On the morning of Wednesday, August 5th, Michael was planning to withdraw $10,000 cash to pay his business partner. Dahlia and Officer Jean agreed that the hit should be carried out then and made to look like a botched robbery, with Dahlia suggesting that Officer Jean keep the money as his payment. She provided the address along with specific directions to the Dipolito's townhouse and stated, I'm a lot tougher than what I look, I know what you're thinking, you're like oh what a cute little girl, whatever you know, but I'm not. Officer Jean told Dahlia that after their meeting ended she wouldn't be able to change

her mind. He asked if she definitely wanted to proceed, to which Dahlia responded, I'm positive, like 5,000% sure, when I say I'm gonna do something, I'm gonna do it. The following day, officers from Boynton Beach Police Department held a meeting to discuss their plans for the staged crime scene. Coincidentally, a camera crew from the Fox Network reality television show COPS was scheduled to start shooting with the department that week as part of a pre-arranged public relations agreement.

On a whim, Sergeant Paul Sheridan suggested the COPS team filmed the staged scene. All relevant parties agreed that Dahlia had already committed the crime of solicitation to commit first-degree murder when she exchanged money with Muhammad, and therefore filming wouldn't be in breach of the active investigation. It was decided that when Dahlia arrived at the pseudo crime scene, the COPS crew would be cordoned off behind police tape to look like regular members of the press. On Tuesday, August 4, Officer Jean called Dahlia to confirm the hit would take place the following day.

He explained that waiting until Michael had withdrawn his money from the bank wasn't viable, and instead instructed Dahlia to vacate the townhouse by 6am. At 5.58 the following morning, after Dahlia left for the gym, the police arrived at the Dipolito's townhouse, where Sergeant Sheridan informed Michael, I need to tell you something real quick here, you need to come with me to the police station, you're not in trouble, your wife has hired someone to kill you. A visibly shocked Michael was immediately taken to the Boynton Beach police station, where he told interviewing detectives about the strange things that had started happening

a month after he and Dahlia married. He mentioned the random drug raids, revealing that the day after his car was searched at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, he found a bag of cocaine and Xanax stuffed into the cap of his gas tank. The police had missed them during their search, and terrified of being found in violation of his parole, Michael had thrown the drugs away. Dahlia had seemed shocked when he told her, but Michael suspected she was the one who planted them there, along with the cocaine found under his spare tire during the city place shopping

center search. He also suspected she was responsible for the difficulty he was having paying off his restitution money. Michael confronted Dahlia and threatened to leave. Dahlia was upset, and acknowledged she had made a mistake by trying to wire the original restitution payment through the Cayman Islands. She insisted there was nothing to be suspicious of, and that Eric Towell was trying to help her fix the error.

When the detectives asked Michael what motivated Dahlia to order his murder, he said it likely had something to do with the townhouse he had just signed over to her, and the money she had stolen. Quote, That's why today, honestly, I'm not that surprised or shocked about all of this. I mean, fool me once, fool me twice, fool me three times. At this point, there's just nothing left to say. It's just ridiculous.

Whatever she gets, she deserves. Everything had gone according to plan at the staged crime scene, with the cops crew capturing every second of Dahlia's reaction to the news that her husband had been murdered. While she was being transported to the police station for questioning, a search of Michael's Chevy Tahoe revealed Dahlia had taken all of her valuable items to the gym that morning, including an $1800 Prada handbag that contained her $26,000 engagement ring and $7,500 worth of designer jewelry. Given the plan was to make Michael's murder look like a botched robbery, it was clear to

investigators that Dahlia didn't want to risk having her possession stolen as part of the ruse. After Dahlia was placed under arrest for solicitation to commit murder, Sergeant Sheridan informed her that the hitman she'd hired was in fact an undercover officer. In the convertible when you sat his car in the front of CVS, what do you want to do? What do you want to do here? Dahlia, listen to me. I didn't do anything. You're going to jail. I didn't do anything.

Please, I didn't do anything. Tell me you didn't do anything. I didn't do anything. You're going to jail today. As soon as I'm done, they're going to come in here and handcuff you and take you to the Palm Beach County Jail, book you for solicitation of first-degree murder on your husband. Your husband is well and alive. Thank God.

Oh, yeah, thank God. Can I see him? Can I see him? No, he doesn't want to see you. I'm so happy to see him. When Sergeant Sheridan revealed that Michael was alive and well, Dahlia immediately asked to see him. Investigators initially refused her request,

but then had Michael appear in the doorway to the interrogation room where Dahlia was being interviewed. Oh, my God. She's alive. Come here, please. Come here. Mike, come here. Come here, please.

Come here. Why not? It's going to be good. Mike, come here, please. Come here. Yeah. OK. Dahlia was subsequently taken to the county jail

where she called her mother and said she wanted Michael out of the townhouse as the title was in her name. She then called Michael to request that he help her, stating, It's not true. It's not possible. What they are saying is not true. I heard what you heard. I saw what you saw.

And it's not true. I am giving you my word that it's not true. How can you believe that? Please help me. Michael said he would help her if she agreed to sign the townhouse back to him. Dahlia refused, to which Michael responded. Quote, I just offered to help you and you have the balls to say no to me. You just said fuck you to me, which is hilarious, considering what happened today.

When Dahlia was first taken in for questioning, she had signed a document which Sergeant Sheridan explained was a form consenting to their interview being videotaped. In reality, it was a waiver allowing the footage of Dahlia to appear on an episode of cops. On the day of her arrest, the Boynton Beach Police Department released the clip of the fake crime scene to YouTube, and the story quickly went viral. Michael was immediately inundated with media attention, with hundreds of reporters calling to ask for his story and comments. In an attempt to satisfy the media and public, he agreed to make an exclusive,

unpaid appearance on the NBC's The Today Show. The interview took place on August 10, during which Michael described his disbelief upon being told about Dahlia's plan, and the discomfort he felt when watching her police interview from the next room. He also noted that Dahlia had appeared completely normal on the morning his murder was scheduled to take place. Michael thanked the Boynton Beach Police Department for their actions, saying, Everybody says how lucky you are to be where you're at, and it honestly hasn't sunk in yet. I still don't get what's really happened. It's just a very strange situation.

That same day, Muhammad Shahada told the police that Dahlia had previously confessed to attempting to poison Michael. On July 22, 2009, while Michael was recovering from his liposuction procedure, Dahlia went to Starbucks to buy him a chai iced tea, and replaced half of the beverage with a colourless, odourless brand of antifreeze. She had hoped Michael wouldn't notice anything unusual about the tea, but he immediately spat it out, telling her it tasted like gasoline. Michael recalled this incident, explaining he had assumed the foul taste was due to some sort of tea concentrate at the bottom of the cup. For 10 days afterwards, he suffered from diarrhea, stomach cramps and mouth ulcers, which he had attributed to after effects of the liposuction.

When he later told his surgeon about the strange symptoms, he was informed they were unrelated to the procedure, so Michael had put it down to food poisoning. On November 20, 2009, Michael made another appearance on The Today Show. By this point, he had seen more of the covert police recordings and told host Matt Lauer, quote, watching it, it's kind of like she's ordering a cheese sandwich, you know, asking someone to kill me. I thought I was starting a family with this girl, and to see this is just, I can't even put it into words. I'm just very disappointed and in utter disbelief. As the prosecution began putting their case against Dahlia together, they obtained her

phone records and discovered that in the months leading up to Michael's attempted murder, she had been in constant contact with the next boyfriend named Mike Stanley. According to the book Poison Candy by Elizabeth Parker, the two met in 2006 when Mike traveled to West Palm Beach from his home in Connecticut for a golfing weekend and commenced a long-distance relationship thereafter. Within eight months, they moved to California together, but six months later, the relationship dissolved. Dahlia returned to Florida and Mike relocated to New York, but they stayed on good terms and maintained a friendship. Dahlia's phone records revealed that in mid-2009, she reached out to Mike Stanley to say she was

still in love with him and wanted to be with him. Mike reciprocated her feelings and the two began messaging each other around the clock. Dahlia treated Mike as her confidant, admitting that she was lying to her husband about being pregnant. On one occasion, she sent Mike a text message asking him to call and to pretend to be her doctor, because she had lied to Michael about missing an appointment. One week later, she sent Mike Stanley a message which read, Soulmates is what we are. We are meant to be together. Do you know I have baby names picked out? I want your child in me. On July 20, Dahlia texted Mike Stanley her husband's social security

number and bank account details and instructed him to call the Department of Treasury to try to have Michael's business account frozen. Her aim was to prevent her husband from paying the restitution money and therefore freeing himself from probation. Dahlia wrote, Michael's so full of shit and ungrateful, crying broke with $100,000 in the bank, a nice house, cars. So what if he's on probation? He's been on it for five years and ass. I love you. Can't wait to have the Treasury drain him. I really hope they can freeze his account. Mike and Dahlia began discussing ways they could convince Michael to sign the townhouse over to Dahlia and how planting drugs in his car might get his parole revoked. On July 21, Dahlia texted Mike

saying, I love you. Just want my life with you. Let's get this motherfucker arrested. I am so tired of his shit. We need to strategize the drugs. Baby, we need to make this happen with his arrest by the weekend. She then asked Mike to report her husband for being in violation of his parole conditions. Two days earlier, Michael had hired a $4,000 luxury suite to watch the Philadelphia Phillies play against the Miami Marlins. The game took place outside of Michael's home county, which he wasn't supposed to leave without permission from his parole officer. Additionally, he had invited a friend who was on probation when he wasn't supposed to be associating with other convicted criminals. Dahlia also instructed Mike to report her husband to the IRS,

alleging he had created fake employees to use for tax write-offs. In late July, Dahlia had arranged for Michael to meet with the lawyer who could help him secure administrative probation. It was during this meeting that Michael was advised to sign the townhouse over to his wife, which he did. When the prosecution looked through Dahlia's phone records, they discovered that she had in fact organized for Mike Stanley to pose as the lawyer, to trick Michael into signing the townhouse over. She had also convinced her mother to organize for a professional-looking man to meet the dippalitos at the courthouse to play the role of the lawyer's fake paralegal in exchange for $500. Her mother had agreed and assigned

the task to a friend. On July 31, Dahlia texted Mike Stanley to say, I want my life with you right now. We'd be getting our party weekend started. I'm ready to spend the rest of my life smiling with you and making you smile. We're soulmates, me and you forever. It was later that same day that she met with Mohamed Shahada to discuss her plans for killing her husband. Prior to Dahlia's trial, she was released from the county jail and remanded on house arrest in her mother's home. On April 25, 2011, the trial began in the Palm Beach County Court with the judge Jeffrey Colbath presiding. In a pre-trial ruling, several details were deemed inadmissible, including Dahlia's history as a sex worker, her false pregnancy claims,

and her alleged attempt to poison Michael dippalito with antifreeze. The evidence was presented over several weeks, during which Michael and Mohamed both testified. Mike Stanley had provided a pre-trial deposition and was not required to appear in court. Dahlia's defense team claimed their client was a sweet and innocent young girl who was swept up in the rich and flashy lifestyle of her image-obsessed husband. They put forward that the murder for higher plot had been part of a script Michael had masterminded, in a bid to secure a reality TV show. He had allegedly convinced Dahlia and Mohamed, who had previously appeared on two episodes of the television crime drama Burn Notice, to get in on the act.

In his opening statement, defense attorney Michael Sounik said, The plot for the contract killing of Michael dippalito was never real. It was a stunt that Mike dippalito, whether he'll admit it or not, hoped to capture the attention of someone in reality TV. Mike dippalito's hopes to obtain fame and fortune was a bad prank. Mr Sounik said Dahlia was a victim of her husband's and the Boynton Beach Police Department's hunger for fame. In rebuttal, the prosecution argued Dahlia was a cold-blooded, wood-bait killer, who laughed as she instructed an undercover officer to murder her husband. Prosecutor Elizabeth Parker, quote, She laughed because she thought she could fool him and she thought she could fool

everyone else. The defense attempted to paint Michael in a negative light, bringing up his history as a con man, drug addict and alcoholic. But it backfired when he was instead perceived as a nice and genuine person. According to Muhammad, Dahlia had admitted that Michael wasn't actually violent but instead treated her well and would do anything she asked. She said she couldn't stand him and simply wanted him out of their house. On May 13, it took the jury less than three hours to reach their verdict, finding Dahlia dippalito guilty of solicitation to commit first-degree murder. The sentencing hearing was held a month later on June 16, 2011. Michael dippalito delivered a victim impact statement explaining how Dahlia's crimes

and the resulting legal proceedings had prevented him from paying the outstanding restitution money to his victims and securing his release from probation. As a result, he had been unable to travel to spend time with his father before his death, his business had failed and he described himself as a nervous wreck. Admitting to his own mistakes in the past, Michael said, If Dahlia would have owned it like a normal person, I would have respected that. But when I get to court, I hear that I want a reality television show. Not only is she saying that, but her lawyers allow it. It's ridiculous. You should have just said Space Aliens landed

and they did it. That would have been a better defense. If she wanted to steal my money and to leave me, she should have got a divorce. What was I going to do? Cry? Who does this? This isn't a wholesome person. This isn't a person that has any regret, any remorse. As soon as we walk out of here, they're filing for an appeal. You know why? Because they think everybody in this room is stupid. That's why. Before handing down his sentence, Judge Colbath said Dahlia had no moral justification for her conduct and was motivated by greed, self-indulgence and a desire to be free of her husband. He dismissed the defences claim that she had been sweet and innocent prior to meeting Michael

and described her campaign to get rid of him as relentless. You used guile and tapestry to dupe others into your web of deception. You were the puppet master pulling all the strings. It was weeks and months that you continued with the different schemes to try and rid yourself of your husband. It was pure evil. You were taking advantage of a guy that was gullible and that was in love with you and you contrived these elaborate plans and cajoled others to assist you. I haven't heard one ounce of remorse. Acknowledging that Dahlia would be facing life in prison or the death penalty had her plot to kill Michael been successful, Judge Colbath sentenced Dahlia to 20 years in prison,

minus the time already spent on house arrest. Dahlia's legal team made several motions to appeal her conviction and Dahlia was once again remanded on house arrest pending the outcomes. In October of 2011, the Palm Beach County Family Court officially finalized Michael and Dahlia's divorce. That same month, Dahlia launched a motion for a retrial after it was revealed that one of her defense attorneys, Michael Saunik, had previously represented Sergeant Frank Ranzi, one of the officers who helped orchestrate Michael's fake murder plot. In 2001, Sergeant Ranzi had been wrongfully accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl and although he was found not guilty and the case had no ties to the dippolito investigation,

Dahlia filed an affidavit saying she would, quote, have never let Michael Saunik represent me if I had known he had previously represented Sergeant Ranzi because of the conflict of interest. The motion was rejected after Mr Saunik produced the documents proving Dahlia had been aware and still wanted him to represent her regardless. Dahlia's new defense lawyer was Brian Claypool, a highly regarded Californian attorney who specialized in entertainment law and select criminal defense cases. Representing her pro bono, Mr Claypool continued to appeal Dahlia's conviction, submitting that his client had been deprived of an impartial jury.

During jury selection for the trial, one of the jurors openly mentioned having read that Dahlia had tried to poison Michael with antifreeze, an allegation that had already been deemed inadmissible at trial. The defense had asked that the jury panel be dismissed, but Judge Colbath rejected the request. In the appeal, Dahlia's defense claimed this was an error on Judge Colbath's behalf. On July 30, 2014, the District Court of Appeal agreed and ordered a new trial, with Dahlia to remain at her mother's home on house arrest. In February 2014, public interest in the case was renewed when prosecutor Elizabeth Parker teamed with best-selling crime writer Mark Ebner to release a book titled,

Poison Candy, The Murderous Madam, Inside a Dahlia Dipolito's Plot to Kill. The comprehensive book detailed the court proceedings, while also delving into the Dipolito's backstory, sexual history, and elements of the case that were deemed inadmissible at trial. On December 4, 2015, while Dahlia was still on house arrest, she agreed to appear on ABC's 2020 television program. Showing her ankle monitor, she told presenter Amy Robark that she was undergoing therapy and medication for depression and anxiety. She said her new-found religious faith was getting her through each day, and that she listened to worship music as an escape. She flatly denied ever hiring a hitman to kill her husband,

maintaining it had all been a scheme to get a reality television deal. She insisted that she only went along with it because Muhammad Shahada had threatened to hurt her and her family otherwise. She also claimed the text messages sent from her phone to her ex-boyfriend Mike Stanley had actually been sent by Michael Dipolito. She denied knowing that Michael was a convicted felon until after they were married, and that although she had loved him during their marriage, she now wished they had never met. When asked to describe herself in three words, Dahlia responded, understanding, sweet, and compassionate.

In a separate interview for the program, Michael asserted that Dahlia knew all about his criminal past, former drug use, prison time, and probation from the get-go. In response to Dahlia's comment that she wished they had never met, Michael said, Oh, I feel the same way. I wish I would have made a left than not a right. Trust me. When asked to describe his ex-wife in three words, he said, liar, liar, and liar. On February 23, 2016, during her pre-trial evidentiary hearing, Dahlia testified that the entire murder for hire plot had been a scripted project between herself, her ex-husband, and Mohamed Shahada in a bid to secure reality television contracts.

She explained she had done some acting for a talent company after high school, appearing as an extra in an episode of television prank show The Jamie Kennedy Experiment in 2004. She claimed the hitman script was inspired by an episode of Burn Notice, in which Mohamed had played a fake hitman, and the project was intended to be released on social media. To explain the phone calls and multiple meetings between herself and Mohamed from July 31, 2009 to August 5, 2009, Dahlia said they were all part of the project. Dahlia claimed that on August 3, 2009, she had met with Mohamed to say she no longer wanted to be involved with the plan. He had allegedly flashed a gun and threatened to kill her and

her family if she didn't meet with the hitman. Dahlia pointed out that she didn't bring any of the item's officer Widdie Jean had asked her to bring to their meeting, such as her house key or her alarm code, stating this was evidence that it was all part of an acting project. Dahlia said she was aware that Mohamed had been recording her for the project, but didn't realize the police were filming as well. When asked why she didn't know where the cameras were located, she reasoned, quote, Moe was dealing with all that stuff. She claimed the $1,200 payment she had given to Mohamed wasn't for the gun, but for his collaboration on the project.

Dahlia's second trial commenced on December 1, 2016, with the judge Glenn Kelly presiding. This time, the prosecution took a more streamlined approach, relying heavily on the recorded police tapes of Dahlia arranging Michael Dipolito's murder and not calling Michael to the stand. For the defense, Brian Claypool dropped the reality TV angle, instead accusing the Boynton Beach Police Department of objective entrapment and conducting an unethical investigation that violated Dahlia's civil rights. In his closing arguments, Mr Claypool surprised the court by announcing that Dahlia had given birth while on house arrest and now had a nine-month-old son. Some speculated that the story

was a ruse, but news reports later confirmed it to be true. The baby's father was a 33-year-old male, not related to the case. On December 13, the jury deliberated for the entire day, but failed to reach a unanimous decision. The next day, they remained deadlocked, prompting Judge Kelly to declare a hung jury. A mistrial was announced, and Dahlia was once again reminded on house arrest, pending a third trial. The third trial began six months later, on June 8, 2017, once again presided by Judge Kelly. The defense stuck with their recent strategy of criticising the conduct of the Boynton Beach Police Department, but the prosecution reverted to the aggressive approach employed in Dahlia's

first trial, calling Michael DiPolito back to the witness stand. This time, the jury took just 90 minutes to reach a unanimous decision, finding Dahlia DiPolito guilty of solicitation to commit first-degree murder. Sentencing was held on July 21, 2017, during which Michael provided a second victim impact statement. Quote, We have been here eight years, and I will be honest with you, if I could hit a button and make this disappear, I would. But I realise that's not life. We are still sitting here, acting like this girl didn't do this. It's amazing. It just blows me away. Like, I can't even believe it. It affected my life. My mum's half a nut job over this. Probably cost me a few hundred grand. I have lost business over this. I almost was thrown in jail

from her trying to violate my probation. The girl tried killing me probably three or four times, handed me a nice tea with antifreeze in it, smiled at me. It just spins around to like a fan. You just can't get away from it. Judge Kelly criticised some aspects of the Boynton Beach Police Department's conduct, but concluded that their investigation had ultimately saved Michael's life. He also noted that Michael was an innocent victim whose ordeal had been drawn out for more than eight years of legal proceedings. Taking into account Dahlia's newfound faith, the intrusive publicity surrounding the case and the time she'd already spent on house arrest,

Judge Kelly upheld Dahlia's original sentence of 20 years in prison, with credit for four of the eight years she'd been on remand. She was immediately taken into custody and refused bail, pending her further appeals. In 2017, it was reported that Michael Dipolito was engaged to a woman whom he had met at a restaurant. Talking about the relationship in an interview with Inside Edition, Michael remarked, It's nice. Sometimes it's hard to accept something this good is happening to you. They purchased a house together in Boynton Beach, and Michael now runs a real estate agency. On June 5, 2017, he paid the outstanding $122,000 of his restitution in the Broward County Court, officially making him a free man.

After both the District Court and the Supreme Court of Florida denied Dahlia's appeals, her legal team petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest court in the U.S., to review Dahlia's case. On February 21, 2020, this petition was denied, meaning Dahlia had exhausted all avenues of appeal. Dahlia continues to serve her prison sentence at the Lowell Correctional Institution in Marion County, Florida. Her scheduled release date is 2032. The same year Michael was originally due to come off probation. In the book Poison Candy, prosecutor Elizabeth Parker sums up the case as follows. In a six-month span, Dahlia moved in with Michael, convinced him to divorce his wife,

married him, got her name on the deed to his townhouse, embezzled his money again and again and again in breathtaking ways, worked overtime with the small army of abedders to get his probation revoked, gaslighted him into believing that hoods and gangsters were out to get him, messed with his mind, announced herself pregnant with his child, and when all of that couldn't get him locked up and out of her life, she paid someone to have him killed. you