PA Man Sentenced to 95 Years in New Jersey State Prison for Conspiring to Murder Government Officials

A jury convicted Steven Smink in August 2025 of a multi-year plot to kill prosecutors and judges involved in his 2014 arson case; an Atlantic County judge imposed a 95‑year term that Smink must serve to at least 85 percent.

ATLANTIC COUNTY, N.J. — A Philadelphia man has been sentenced to 95 years in New Jersey state prison after a jury found him guilty of organizing a multi‑year murder‑for‑hire scheme targeting government officials involved in his earlier arson prosecution.

Steven Smink, 62, of Philadelphia, was convicted on August 15, 2025, on one count of conspiracy to commit murder and five counts of attempted murder (all first‑degree), and on charges of conspiracy to transport weapons and transporting weapons (both fourth‑degree). Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Levin imposed the 95‑year sentence; under the judgment Smink must serve 85 percent of that term.

Prosecutors said the conspiracy ran from January 2018 through December 2020 and targeted Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb‑McRae, First Assistant Prosecutor Harold Shapiro, two superior court judges and an assistant prosecutor who had been involved in Smink’s 2014 arson conviction. Smink — a former owner of a southern New Jersey bowling alley — previously received a 15‑year state prison sentence for orchestrating a plan to burn down a rival bowling alley; two Philadelphia residents accused of starting that fire later pleaded guilty.

“The sentence handed down today is appropriate for this defendant, who planned to kill public servants for doing their jobs when they convicted him for previously committed crimes,” said Attorney General Platkin.

According to the Division of Criminal Justice, the investigation began to expand while Smink was incarcerated at Northern State Prison. In April 2019, the New Jersey State Police Central Security Unit received information from the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness that Smink had retained a cooperating witness in late 2017 and early 2018 to help carry out the murders. Investigators allege Smink originally contracted with a member of the Latin Kings gang who was also imprisoned; that individual died before any acts were carried out. Smink then is alleged to have contracted with a cooperating witness to locate a hitman, oversaw transfers of sports memorabilia as payment for the hits, and directed his mother, Esther Smink (now deceased), to write correspondence in furtherance of the conspiracy.

Prosecutors further say recordings and undercover meetings captured Smink directing how the attacks should appear. In a meeting with an undercover officer he is reported to have said, “If everybody was together, wipe the whole place out and kill everybody it just looks like somebody making an assault, a gangs meeting.” He also said, “If somebody shot up the place it looks like the gang getting retribution.”

Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb‑McRae addressed the court at sentencing; her remarks were included in the prosecution’s release verbatim: “I signed up for my job,” said Prosecutor Webb‑McRae. “And as the front facing symbol of my office, it could be argued that I knew the risks when I did. But, Judge, my family didn’t. My neighbors didn’t. My church family didn’t. And when they read that someone was arrested in a plot to kill me, they feel a little less safe spending time in spaces where I am present.”

The investigation and prosecution involved multiple agencies: the New Jersey State Police Central Intelligence Unit and the New Jersey Department of Corrections SID, with assistance from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Division of Criminal Justice Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Parvin, Deputy Attorney General Veronica Daddario, and Deputy Attorney General Amie Hyde.

“Today’s sentence will keep this violent offender behind bars, where he clearly belongs,” said DCJ Director Theresa L. Hilton. “Public officials should never be threatened for doing their job, which in this case involved convicting and sentencing an arsonist. His response was to try and hire someone to kill them. These additional violent crimes resulted in his second conviction and additional years in prison.”

The lengthy sentence reflects New Jersey prosecutors’ characteriza­tion of the plot as a sustained, coordinated threat to members of the judiciary and prosecutorial staff and demonstrates the state’s use of prolonged custodial terms and interagency investigation to address organized attempts to target public officials.