Valerie Cincinelli Went to Prison for a Failed Murder-for-Hire Plot — Where Is She Now?

In May 2019, former New York City cop Valerie Cincinelli was arrested in connection to a murder-for-hire plot. She asked her then-boyfriend, John DiRubba, to find a hitman to kill his daughter and her estranged husband, Isaiah Carvalho Jr.

Fortunately, the plan was foiled and she was sentenced to 48 months in prison.

So, where is Valerie Cincinelli now? Here's what we know.

According to federal prison records, Cincinelli was released in October 2022. Her LinkedIn page says she is a personal trainer at A Second U Foundation, which was founded by Hector Guadalupe after he spent a decade behind bars.

The organization "works to make sure that people coming home are not defined by their sentence, but are given the tools needed to be successful," via their website.

Interestingly enough Cincinelli still includes the nearly 15 years she spent as a New York City police officer who — and we couldn't make this up — specialized in domestic violence cases. Unfortunately, trying to better one's self is not without its trolls.

Beneath a post on LinkedIn about obtaining her personal training certification, one woman wrote "MURDERER" and another said, "THIS LUNATIC SHOULD STILL BE LOCKED UP." As a reminder, the murder-for-hire plot was not a success.

Cincinelli's lawyer, James Kousouros, has always said that she was never planning on committing any crime. She never thought DiRubba would find a hitman and maintains that this was all part of an elaborate fantasy she was acting out with DiRubba.

"I have consistently said that she is clearly playing out this fantasy during these conversations that she never believed would come to fruition," Kousouros said to NBC News.

In February 2022, eight months before Cincinelli's release, Carvalho spoke with Inside Edition about what his life has been like after discovering the woman he thought he knew, wanted him dead. He told the outlet that he still lives in fear.

"I look over my shoulder constantly. There’s not a day that I don’t go by that I’m not afraid for my life," said Carvalho.

Part of the shock came from the fact that Cincinelli was a cop, a job that should involve protecting people, especially the ones you love. It didn't seem to matter that they shared a son, a fact which terrified Carvalho even more. So, how did he avoid getting killed by his then-wife? It was all thanks to the man she was cheating on him with.

At the time, Cincinelli was seeing a man by the name of John DiRubba on the side. He had a 15-year-old daughter who was also involved in the murder-for-hire plot but in a devastating way. Cincinelli offered DiRubba $7,000 to kill Carvalho and DiRubba's own daughter. Thankfully he went to authorities and began working with the FBI.

This led to Carvalho staging his own death so authorities could later get DiRubba to record a conversation with Cincinelli about the fake murder. It worked like a charm.

We sometimes see stories of women who want their husbands dead on true-crime shows and podcasts. But it seems so rare to want your boyfriend's kid dead so badly that you'd turn to him to get the job done. But that's exactly what Cincinelli did. She asked DiRubba to find someone to kill his own daughter.

Although it may be hard to believe, The New York Times said that Cincinelli could have wanted the girl killed because she was jealous of her. DiRubba was apparently was very generous with her. He had bought his daughter some "expensive" gifts, and that kind of attention caused Cincinelli to lash out and call the child names.

It's hard to believe this would lead to a desire to kill but as we learn time and time again via these true crime documentaries and podcasts, anything is possible.