Murder-for-hire scheme sends one to jail

The owner of American Muscle Autoworks in Libby was arrested Friday after an FBI investigation found that he paid $50,000 to have his estranged wife killed.

Shane Douglas Sichting, 1639 U.S. Hwy. 2 S., is behind bars in Missoula County on charges of using interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire.

According to court records obtained by the Missoulian, Sichting approached an employee of the autoshop in November 2006 about hiring someone to kill his wife.

The employee, Ronald Morales, accepted $30,000 as an initial payment before heading to Eugene, Ore., to return to his family.

The two kept in touch by telephone. After receiving the last of the money, Morales cut off ties to Sichting hoping that he would eventually realize he had been scammed.

But Sichting traveled to Oregon to check on the arrangement. Morales became frightened and contacted police. FBI agents then took over the investigation and sent an undercover Kalispell police officer to meet Sichting in Libby. Sichting was arrested immediately after the meeting.

If convicted, he faces possible penalities of 10 years in prison, $250,000 fine and five years supervised release.