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Man Guilty In Hit-Man Death Plot

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By TODD LESKANIC, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 16, 2007

Jurors deliberated for about two hours Thursday before finding a Pasco County man guilty of trying to arrange a hit on his ex-wife's boyfriend.

Robert J. Bellon, a former drug counselor, was convicted of solicitation to commit first-degree murder and will be sentenced Jan. 31. He faces between four and 30 years in prison.
Pasco County sheriff's investigators secretly videotaped Bellon, 53, speaking to an undercover officer about arranging the killing. The meeting happened at a Wesley Chapel motel in October 2005.

Bellon was arrested after leaving the motel room.

Since his arrest, Bellon has maintained his innocence, saying he was coerced into going to the hotel room and setting up the hit. He has said he only agreed to meet with someone he thought was a hit man because another man was threatening him.

Bellon has said the same man had some of his possessions locked in a storage unit and he thought if he agreed to the meeting the man would give them back. He also maintained that his ex-wife, Christine Kirk, set him up because he planned to testify against her at a custody hearing.

Bellon has also admitted that explaining his actions on the videotape would be difficult. He proved to be right.

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (352) 521-3156 or tleskanic@tampatrib.com.

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