Transcripts For MSNBCW Dateline 20200419

Murdered in their town house. Something happened at her house and she needs to get to the house fast. No, no. Was this crime all that it seemed . She played such a good game that people didnt know. A surprise was coming. You dont know what to think. And it would arrive from beyond the grave. Oh, my god. There has not been a story like this ever in Palm Beach County history. Is she the villain . Is she the victim . Who knows . Thats what makes her riveting and she is infamous and probably will be forever. Hello and welcome to dateline. When dalia and Mike Dippolito met it was instant fireworks. An immediate attraction that turned into a fatal attraction and to crack the case investigators needed to know was she diabolic or unwitting pawn in a hoax gone wrong . It would take eight years to unwind this true tale of sex, lies and videotape. Heres Dennis Murphy with the sting. Reporter the mesmerizing story of dalia begins in a place where the humidity is hi, palm beach. It is the winter wonderland. You can drive over the bridge and feel the rarefied air, the mansions and hedges that hide the mansions. Reporter jan tuckwood said some mainlanders cant resist the wannabe allure of palm beach. Most people are influenced that richness is right there and how can they get a piece of it. Reporter past the interstate newlyweds dalia and mike lived in a 250,000 condo, not exactly the same zip code as palm beach but fine for two up and comers. Dalia and mike had big dreams like any Company Young and in love. Aspirations at the least. She had a 20,000 diamond engagement ring. He had a porsche in the garage. Their story for public consumption was love at first sight. Mike was an internet entrepreneur and dalia the businesswoman he fell head over heels for. Three months after their first meeting, marriage was inevitable. There was a teensie problem in their paradise, Mike Dippolito was married. Lawyers jason brody and Josh Friedman arranged a Quickie Divorce so the ballad of mike and dalia could begin. He fell in love with her. He thought she was the end all be all. He felt as though this was it and im going to have a family with her and were going to grow old together. He thought she was the real deal. They hit it off. Had a lot of things in common. Enjoyed the same things. Dalia is a real estate agent. Thats what attracted her to him. Are we talking about sexual attraction. Theres sexual attraction, absolutely. With a divorce in hand, mike and dalia dashed to the courthouse to marry and soon fell into comfortable routine, morning workouts at the gym, steamy date nights at fivestar hotels and love notes on the fridge. He seemed to be dalias dream guy. And three months into the marriage according to michael, she told him she was pregnant. He was thrilled. Life was good. But early one morning in august 2009 it all came to an end for the two with a finality as certain as crime scene tape strung across the front of the condo. Dalia had been located at her 6 00 a. M. Workout by the Boynton Beach police. This is Sergeant Frank ramsey. I need to talk to you. Its very urgent. It involves your husband. She was instructed to get home right away. When she arrived she saw police cars out front, everything that spells disaster just ahead. It just so happened a camera crew from the tv show cops was there filming an episode when dalia got the awful news. Miss dippolito. Im the one that called you. Thank you for coming. Listen, we had a report of a disturbance at your house. Reporter the officer was direct with dalia. He said there had been an intruder in the house and several shots were fired. Is your husband michael . Im sorry to tell you, maam, hes been killed. No. I cant let you go, man. Reporter michael, her husband of six month, gunned down in their town house the cops were telling her but she would not be allowed to go inside to see the body. I need you to go with these detectives, okay . If you want to enemies you have to go to the station and tell us everything you know about who he knows, who hes connected to. Reporter the investigation was only minutes ole and the officers told dalia theyd need her cooperation in understanding what happened. Well do everything we can. We need your help. We need to get your husbands killer, manual. Reporter dalia was whigsked off to the Police Station where shed find out the detectives thought they knew much more about the details than they were letting on. This case was about to get very complicated. Oh, yes. Coming up, the questions began, it seems that undercover agent has their eyes and hidden cameras trained on mrs mrs. Dippolito. Whats up . When dateline continues ft. 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She began by telling the detectives that michael, her deceased husband wasnt exactly squeaky clean. Hes been trying to get off probation and its just been nothing but problems the whole time that hes been trying to get off. Mike, she said, was a convicted felon, a swipdz ler who bilked thousands of dollars from gullible investors by selling them phony currency securities. It was for taking money. It was like he would take money from people. In other words, her murdered husband was a guy with enemies. When he was released from prison after seven months he was still looking at more than 25 years of probation. He had been ordered to make restitution to the victims he fleeced, an outstanding iou of 191,000. People were mad because he was getting probation. Find out who he sewed aowed youll find the killer. They changed the questioning to the newlyweds. We were fine. Like theres nothing no problems between you guys. No financial problems. With your family, you and him . I mean, theres nothing. We were going through his business slowed down like anything. The cops were toying with her. Holding back their best cards. They thought they knew so much more point newlyweds. Did they ever . Lets freeze the action in the Interview Room for a sec and roll everything back a few days. Thats when a man walked into the Boynton Beach pd with a lurid story to tell. His married lover was shopping for a hit man. Detective alex moreno didnt know what to make. At first when hes giving you this information you, you dont know what to think. Heres a guy claiming hes sleeping with a guys wife and now shes trying to get somebody to kill him. Pretty juicy story. Exactly. Reporter he had the tipster rung down his story. His name was mohamed. A parttime actor who worked at a convenience store. He had been friends with benefits with a woman for years. They had met for the occasional casual sex then she asked him for help in finding a hit man to kill her husband. He says, you know what, yeah, im sleeping with this guys wife, but at the same time i didnt want this guy to be killed and that was his concern. He couldnt sleep with that whole idea this guy was going to get killed. Reporter the detective wondered if he was being sold a cock and bull story since he didnt claim to know much about the woman she was sleeping with. All the information he had was her first name. He didnt know where she lived. He didnt though who her husband was. Reporter while they debated whether or not the tipsters story was credit they knew a life may be on the line so the detectives took it to the negative level. They enlisted mohamed as a confidential informant and gave him a story to tell his parttime lover. He found her hit man. Two things could have happened either this guy was lying to us or it was true. We hadnt validated it yet till he makes contact. Reporter mohamed set up an appointment and the car was rigged for pictures and signs. Undercover agents would watch the whole time to find out who this woman was, where she lived. Who her husband was, and just what the heck was going on. She came down the street, came into the gas station, we picked up the car and not only are we watching her were hearing whats going on in the informants car, live. Hey, whats up . I love you too. Yeah, you love me too. Reporter running down the license plates and registration yielded the name of a 26yearold woman, Dalia Dippolito. The same woman who would later be seen on that videotape as the grieving widow. Police officers didnt have to wait long before the informants story was confirmed. This woman in the car really appeared to be in the market for a triggerman. Less than a minute she begins talking about hiring somebody to kill her husband. Unprompted. Hes not doing dental work to get the story out of her. Honestly killing over that much money. Even its not even about the [ bleep ] money. Well spend it like in the [ bleep ] blink of an eye. The meeting seemed to be all business. Dalia produced photos of her husband for mohamed to hand over to the hit man. I brought pictures. Just give me one picture. Reporter dalia brought Something Else the hit man requested, cash to buy the gun to be used. I brought 1200. Hes asking for 1200. Yeah. When are you going to give him the money today. Reporter she turns the money over . Yes. Is that a crime, detective. Its not enough yet. We didnt have enough. We wanted to go further with this case. The police were about to test dalia to see if she was determined to have her new husband killed. Coming up undercover agent tells her, ill put two shots to the head and doesnt even faze her, no remorse. Im positive. Another undercover sting and a plan is set in motion for a deadly house call when dateline continues. 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With the help of a confidential informant the boing ton beach Police Department had apparently confirmed that a woman named Dalia Dippolito wanted to hire a hit man to kill her husband and it all seemed to be caught on tape. Youre sure that its like solid . Yo, this guy is a professional. Right. All right, good. Reporter so the police instructed their informant to help set up another meeting with dalia. This time it would be with the hit man who would be, of course, an Undercover Police officer. An agent. Same drill again. A Meeting Place outside a store. And a car wired for video and audio. Hey . Hey. Were staying in here, right . All right, yeah, yeah. Okay. Man, you look good. Thank you. Reporter in that meeting they began making plans. She also tells our hit man where they live. She provides a schedule where her husband goes comes and goes in the morning, where hes going to be the next day. It shows her intent. And the fact that here she is meeting with a complete stranger who she believes its a hit man, she actually goes as far as saying, hey, id rather if it happened here. How are we gonna do it successfully if we go ahead and do it at, like, at the house, like, how do we how do we how soon could you do it . She just wants it done and the sooner the better. Reporter does your agent give her a door out at this point . Yes. He asked her more than once if she was sure if this is what she wanted done. She laughs about it and says, yeah, once i set my mind to do something, i do it. You definitely want to do this . Im positive, like, 5,000 sure. Reporter the pretend hit man told her hed use a gun. Give him a taptap. He gets two in the head. Thats it. You know . Our undercover agent tells her, hey, im gonna put two in his head, meaning two shots to the head, and it doesnt even faze her. No remorse. Reporter dalia and the hit man, who was really an undercover cop, seemed to agree that he would kill her husband in two days time. He told her to be prepared to go to the gym early that morning. By the time you get back from the gym, you are going to find two things, his dead body in the house, all right, or nothing. All right. Reporter the day before, he called dalia with further instructions. Tomorrow morning you gotta be out by 6 00. Okay. Doesnt hesitate, doesnt change her mind, none of that. She just says, okay. And thats it. Reporter the next morning, everything was going according to plan. Dalia left for the gym. Undercover cops tailing her. One of our sergeants makes a phone call while she is at the gym. And then we inform her that something happened at her house and she needs to get to the house fast. She doesnt know details. She just knows something has happened, get home quickly. Yes. And she shows up at the house, and once again, she makes contact with our sergeant. And shes informed of her husbands death, that hes been killed. Im sorry to tell you, maam. Hes been killed. Hes been killed, maam. Oh, no no. Dear god, no. If you look at that video, she begins to react before shes even told the whole story. According to that sergeant who was actually making contact with her, he didnt see any tears. Reporter and when they brought her to the Police Station, investigators were curious to see how far dalia would push her scenario blaming the murder on one of her husbands former enemies. The detectives were carefully watching her interview on a tv monitor in a nearby room. People werent happy that he was getting off probation because its a lot of money hes got to pay back. She mentioned how he had enemies, he was on probation. She didnt even bother to ask how it happened. Reporter to their experienced eyes and ears, dalia was making a few mistakes in how she was telling her theory of the crime. But they wanted to push her some more, see if they could get her to confess to her suspected murder plot then and there. Would she be obviously rattled when they led in a familiar face, the person she believed to be the hit man . Bring this guy in here. Get over here. Get over here. You know who this guy is . No. Youve never seen him before. Ive never seen him before, ever. Reporter the man before her, actually the Undercover Police officer, was presented to dalia here as someone theyd just nabbed for the killing of her husband. Do you know her . Put your head up and look at her. Put your head up. Ive never seen him. Reporter the detectives finally put their cards on the table. They told dalia that they knew this was the supposed hit man. And that meeting where they planned to kill her husband . All recorded on tape. Thats an Undercover Police officer. We filmed everything that you did. We recorded everything that you did. Youre going to jail for solicitation of firstdegree murder of your husband. I didnt do anything. Did you hear what i just told you . I heard what you said, but i didnt do anything. Everything you listen to me. Everything has been recorded. You were photographed in the convertible when you sat at his car in the front of cvs. What do you want to do . Oh, my god. Reporter rock steady to all appearances, dalia swore up and down she had nothing to do with the death of her husband. But the police had another surprise for her, truly a humdinger. They were about to walk a ghost to the doorway of the Interview Room. Coming up oh, my god. Someone is back from the grave when dateline continues. With relief of your worst symptoms, including itchy throat. Plus an immediate blast of cooling sensation. Feel the clarity and live claritin clear. Protect your pet with the 1 name in flea and tick protection. Frontline plus. Trusted by vets for nearly 20 years. 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Do not use in breeding, pregnant, or lactating dogs. Most common side effects are vomiting and diarrhea. Feeling better . Im speechless. Thanks for the apoquel. Awww. Thats what friends are for. Ask your veterinarian for apoquel. Next to you, apoquel is a dogs best friend. Helling low, im dara brown. The White House Coronavirus response coordinator says social distancing has saved many lives and deborah birx referenced cities across the country from seattle to new orleans and praised leaders for flattening the curve. This comes as beaches saw big crowds after the states governor told some municipalities they could reopen. Desantis said they could only be done with social distancing still in place. Now back to dateline. Imagine for a minute youre Dalia Dippolito. Homicide detectives in a Police Interrogation room are accusing you of plotting your husbands murder. Dalia didnt know it then, but her husband Michael Dippolito was still very much alive and was about to come facetoface with his wife of six months, who seemed to want him dead. Im thinking in my head, im lucky, im lucky. But im like, im so screwed right now. The worst day in the world. Reporter before waking up that day, Michael Dippolito was Clueless Police thought his wife of six months had hired a hit man to kill him. Instead, he believed he and dalia had begun a loving new chapter together. They were about to start a family. She told him she was pregnant. Dalia was at the gym when those tv cameras from the reality show cops captured the Moment Police knocked on mikes front door. Police department, open your door sorry. Im Sergeant Sheridan from the boynton Police Department. Yes, hi. Can i talk to you . Yes, for sure. We say, hey, listen, this is what were doing. Weve been conducting an investigation. He says, your wife is gonna you have to come with us. And i just looked at him. And im like i mean, it hit me. You dont hear those words every day . No. Reporter the officers told michael he had to come with them right away to the Boynton Beach Police Station before his wife got back from the gym. So, grab your stuff, get in the car, were outta here. Yes. Reporter meanwhile, outside his townhouse, the police were starting to stagedress a phony murder scene, all to trick dalia into thinking the hit man she had apparently hired had successfully completed the job. Reporter Boynton Beach police recorded those moments, as did the crew from the cops tv show. But the murky involvement of a tv show would later complicate accusations against dalia. Reporter at the station, the detectives cued up their own Surveillance Videos showing mike the husband dalias two meetings as she seemed to shop for a hit man. Im positive, like 5,000 sure. Reporter then the police allowed michael to watch his wifes realtime Police Interrogation going on in another room. Dalia, who had no idea her husband was alive, told her police interviewer she had nothing to do with whatever had happened to him even after they brought in the undercover cop who posed as her hit man. Put your head up and look at her. Put your head up. Ive never seen him. Im watching. And i am just watching and im waiting for her to give it up. And you know what . The girl never gave it up. Were going to go ahead and arrest. Reporter dalia was arrested and handcuffed. And cameras were still rolling when Police Walked a very much alive michael into the doorway of the interrogation room. Oh, my god. Hes alive. And they say, you know this guy, and im standing there probably from twice the distance of us. Come here please. Come here. I cant. You cant fix this. Why not . I didnt do anything to you. I heard you. Mike, come here please. Come here. And thats when she says, come here, i love you, i love you. And i told her. I said, look, i cant. You know, i said you cant fix this. Reporter now it was michaels turn to tell the police his story warts and all, correcting for the record that love at first sight fairy tale. I can tell you i didnt meet her in a church. She is actually an escort. Thats how i met her. She came to my office one day. Reporter dalia denies she was an escort. And though mike describes ordering her up from an escort service, he claims even now there was a mutual attraction that went far beyond that initial transaction. When i met dalia we seemed to connect instantly. We hit it off right away. It wasnt just bed . No. It was everything about it. We just clicked, you know, be it our sex life, be it just our spare time, be it the things we liked, all that. And it just happened. Reporter three months after they met, michael divorced his first wife and married dalia that same week. I had just purchased a home, and were gonna start a life together. And we talked about traveling and doing things, you know, and we had, like, a future planned. Reporter but there was a hitch to michaels future, the terms of his probation prevented him from leaving south florida. So the couple consulted a lawyer and his advice was pay off that 191,000 you owe in restitution and you have a fair chance of getting the probation lifted. So that was your ticket to freedom . Pay back the money and, yeah, and get my freedom. You know, and dalia said she would help me with some of the money, about 90,000. And im like, absolutely, lets do it. Reporter michael says he and dalia agreed that they would pool their money to pay off dipollitos debt. This is great. You know, shes pushing me forward, too. I thought, like, okay, im gonna get off probation. Its very exciting for me. Then the plan to get michael out of hock changed again. According to michael, another lawyer said to him, look, you own your townhouse free and clear, why not just turn the title over to dalia . Then she can do money things for you, no problem. So michael gave her the deed to the town house as well as 100,000 cash. His part of that payback of the restitution debt. The money was supposed to go to his attorney, but it never got there. Ill tell you where it unraveled. As soon as i got dalia that 100,000 is where it went downhill. Reporter and he says, after dalia got that nice sized chunk of change, he started to have a string of runins with the police, including one night after dinner out with dalia. They left the restaurant to find the police swarming michaels vehicle. After a search, they found cocaine stashed beneath a spare tire. I actually started crying to this cop. And im like, look, man, i havent done anything in 5 1 2 years. I dont know how, why or what happened. They let me go. I couldnt even believe it. And you wouldve gone back to prison because you violated probation . Uh, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Reporter now he didnt want to think that the light of his life could be behind something as nefarious as getting him thrown back in prison but the idea was there, maybe dalia. I said to her, i said you know, only when im with you. My life isnt this exciting. In 5 1 2 years on probation, i didnt have one runin with the police. Im with this girl six months. And the whole Police Department knows me. I might as well glow fluorescent so youre looking at her sideways . Im just like, im doing the best i can to be a good husband, give her a chance. No reason to believe shes faking it with you . No. I mean, she may have been a bad actress the day they caught her on camera, but as far as with me, she was an Academy Award winner. Reporter he says dalia also seemed to be playing the role as an expectant mother. There never was a baby, was there, mike . Never was a baby. Reporter another thing dalia was not expecting was the formal charge being filed against her, solicitation to commit firstdegree murder with a firearm. Hello. Hey, its me. Reporter but even after her arrest, dalia phoned michael from jail, pleading with him to get her an attorney, claiming the cops had gotten it all wrong. What theyre saying is not true. You said you wanted to have me killed. I heard that. Whats your problem . Thats not true. That is not true. How is it not true . Theyre charging your [ bleep ]. Dont you get it . Mike, i didnt do anything. She wont give it up. I didnt do it, i didnt do it. Why arent you helping me . You know, i love you, and over and over. And im like, are you kidding . I said, well, what do you want me to do . Youre supposed to get me an attorney please so i can talk to you. Reporter even though she would later be released under house arrest, while still in jail dalia begged the guy she was accused of trying to kill to help her find a lawyer to beat the charge. Michael saw the phone call as an opportunity to play lets make a deal. I said, get me my house back, less of all the problems and legal bills. I said, and ill get you a lawyer. So, listen, sign my property back to me and ill help you. Okay . Im not signing anything. So i cant help you. Reporter and because of floridas strong open records laws, her jailhouse phone calls and all the Police Surveillance tapes made by the Boynton Beach cops would become public. They were out there, viral, on youtube. Reporter those images of dalia boohooing online would be seen by thousands of viewers who lambasted her in the comments section. But the people with the only opinion that mattered werent convened on youtube. They were in a west palm beach, florida, courtroom. What would a jury of her peers make of dalia and michael . Coming up the case heads into court and out come more secrets. It was like something out of a movie. It was unreal. People seeking their 15 minutes of fame lose all sense of judgment and common sense. Was this whole thing a hoax . When dateline continues. So why accept it from your allergy pills . Flonase relieves your worst symptoms which most pills dont. Get allinone allergy relief for 24 hours, with flonase. Wthe Natural Light is amazing. Hardwood floors. There is a bit of a clogging problem. clog dancing at least geico makes it easy to bundle our renters and car insurance. Yeah, helping us save us even more. For bundling made easy, go to geico. Com saturpain happens. Aleve it. Aleve is proven stronger and longer on pain than tylenol. When pain happens, aleve it. All day strong. Its starting to people are surprising themselves the moment they realize they can du more with less asthma. 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Conviction could get her up to 30 years in prison. She pleaded not guilty. Lead prosecutor liz parker would introduce a trove of evidence, photographs, audio recordings and videos including that sting in which dalia tells an undercover cop posing as a hit man that she wanted her husband Mike Dippolito dead a. S. A. P. Im positive, like 5000 sure. It was unreal. It was like something out of a movie. Reporter dalia had already spent almost two years under house arrest in her mothers home by the time the trial began in april of 2011. They say love is blind. In this case, love was blind, deaf and dumb. Reporter the jury would hear the prosecution argue that the sixmonth marriage of michael and dalia was a fraud from the beginning. She made him believe that this was an amazing marriage. He never wanted to believe that his wife, the person that he loved more than anything, wanted to have him killed. Reporter the prosecutor said dalia was juggling two lovers on the side and was trying to enlist each of them in getting her husband bumped off. Shes playing all of these guys. Theyre all thinking theyre the one. And the only person that she cared about was herself. Reporter detective alex moreno read back Text Messages dalia wrote about her husband to her lovers. I really hate him and want to see him rot. Just want my life with you. Lets get this arrested. Reporter to the prosecution, her scheme was apparent plant drugs on michael, tip the cops and get him busted back to prison on a parole violation. She tries for months to have him arrested. Reporter the alleged motive greed. Prosecutors said she wanted to keep michaels condo and his money all for herself. But when the schemes didnt work out, argued the prosecution, dalia settled on the fatal solution. Shed simply have michael killed so everything would be hers. Sure you want this dude killed . Reporter the prosecutions case looked airtight with all those mesmerizing tapes of dalia plotting out a murder and also that video from the cops tv show with her looking unglued as she learned of her husbands murder. What no one could have predicted, though, was dalias defense. We live in a world where people seeking their 15 minutes of fame lose all sense of judgment and common sense. Reporter dalias defense attorney Michael Salnick said this whole crazy story was, in fact, all about dalias husbands vanity and his thirst for fame. It was mike who was really behind the faked murder, its mastermind, just so he could be known beyond Boynton Beach. Mike dippolitos hoax to orchestrate his own murder to achieve fame and fortune was a bad prank. It was never anyones intention to harm anyone. Reporter the defense argued it was all a tv pitch, michael auditioning for his big break. The evidence will show that the plot for the contract killing of Mike Dippolito was never real. Mike dippolito hoped to capture the attention of someone in reality tv. Reporter the defense attorney argued that dalia was in on the reality show idea the whole time. That scene out front of dalia wailing, acting, said the defense. Dalia knew that mike wasnt harmed and hers is a fake reaction to a fake event. Reporter the defense pushed Michael Dippolito hard on crossexamination, accusing him of dragging dalia down with his stupid idea of being a tv star. This whole reality thing was actually orchestrated by you, wasntt it . I dont know what youre talking about. The silliest thing ive ever heard. I mean, uh, completely made up. All right, lets bring in our jury, please. Reporter and after two weeks of trial testimony, the jury agreed. We find the defendant guilty of solicitation to commit firstdegree murder. Reporter in the end, the judge sentenced her to 20 years and gave dalia a piece of his mind before sending her behind bars. It was weeks and months that you continued with these different schemes to try to rid yourself of your husband. It was pure evil. Reporter but that wasnt the final note in the ballad of mike and dalia. In a move that surprised the prosecution just three months after sentencing, the judge who called dalia pure evil allowed her to post a 500,000 bond. She was released from jail and was again placed under house arrest while she appealed her conviction. Fast forward three years, and dalia won her appeal for a new trial. The judge in her first trial failed to properly filter jurors for potential bias and exposure to pretrial publicity. Reporter Brian Claypool is one of dalias new lawyers. Some of the jurors said she was guilty in front of the entire jury pool, which contaminated the jury pool. Reporter and so more than seven years after Dalia Dippolito was charged with hiring a hit man to kill her husband, she would go on trial again. When she heard the news that she had been granted a retrial, she was extremely overjoyed because she felt like she would have a Second Chance to have the truth be told. Reporter she would speak exclsively to dateline. And, oh, what a story shed tell, this real housewife of Boynton Beach. So much better than reality tv. Coming up he started manufacturing all of these things. Did you want your husband mike dead. No. Murder for hire or audition for television . Dalia dippolito was used as a pawn by the Boynton Beach Police Department to manufacture good tv. A cliffhanger of an episode is coming up when dateline continues. Protect your pet with the 1 name in flea and tick protection. Frontline plus. Trusted by vets for nearly 20 years. Frontline plus. And 24 hour relief from symptoms caused byn. Over 200 indoor and outdoor allergens. Like those from buddy. Because nothing should come between two best friends. Feel the clarity, and live claritin clear. Who knows where that button is . 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Dalia dippolito was caught on camera plotting to have her husband killed. At trial she mounted a defense no one saw coming claiming it was all a bizarre reality tv publicity stunt engineered by michael. The jury didnt buy it and she was found guilty. But in a case filled with twists, the verdict was overturned. It was now time for the retrial and dalias defense team had more tricks in store. Heres Dennis Murphy with the conclusion of the sting. And now the Season Finale of the dalia and Michael Dippolito show. More than seven years after dalias outburst went viral boohoo. Reporter and five years after dalia was sentenced to 20 years for hiring a hitman to kill her husband, she was back again in court on the same charge facing a possible 30year stretch. Good afternoon, ms. Dippolito. Afternoon. Reporter first, at a Pretrial Hearing in february as they tried to get the entire case dismissed, dalias new team roadtested a new reality tv defense, this time dalia was blaming her former lover mohamed the informant and sometimes tv extra. They werent about arranging a hit. They were all about that tv presentation. The purpose of meeting him was to discuss the presentation and, you know, taping what was going to be on there. She claimed she had wanted to back out of the purported tv project but she insisted mohamed was having none of that. And at that point, he lifted his shirt and showed me his gun. And he threatened me. He threatened to hurt me. He threatened to hurt my family. Reporter mohamed the informant denies threatening her or participating in a reality tv production. The reality tv defense seems to play into this whole story. Reporter Palm Beach Post Senior Editor jan tuckwood says dalias defense was weirdly appropriate. It just seems to make total sense because the whole story doesnt make sense. So, you just throw in that angle. I wanna be famous, so lets do this stunt, if it was a stunt. It just adds to the weirdness. Reporter the story didnt fly with the new judge, and the motion to dismiss was thrown out. And so in december 2016 dalia showed up at the Palm Beach County courthouse once again new trial, new jury. Well have the opening statements. The prosecutors version of the 2009 events was the same as ever though a skeleton of the full story. It is based 100 on mrs. Dippolitos words, her actions and her intent, 100 . Reporter we have it all on tape, he said, dalia hiring a hit man to kill her husband. For 4,700 bucks she wanted two bullets put in her husbands head for nothing. Reporter then it was dalias turn, with the defense presented by los angeles attorney Brian Claypool saying the police entrapped dalia in a reality tv production for their own 15 minutes of fame on the cops tv show. You cant break the rules and then be rewarded by breaking the rules and thats what really this case is about. Everybody is entitled to a Police Investigation that has integrity. This never really was a credible Police Investigation. Rather, Dalia Dippolito was used as a pawn by the Boynton Beach Police Department to manufacture good tv for the cops tv show. Reporter dalias attorneys said Boynton Beach police undermined its own investigation when the Public Information officer had the video posted online. Within several hours of video footage by cops and Boynton Beach pd, ou went over back to the Police Department and you posted this on youtube. Correct . Correct. And you knew at that time that there was a pending criminal investigation of Dalia Dippolito. Correct . Correct. Reporter in the end her team contended Boynton Beach pd violated her Constitutional Rights. Jurors, they said, look at the motives of the men running the Surveillance Video and find their target, dalia, not guilty. This was a Police Department in love with publicity and by virtue of that they tossed Dalia Dippolito under the bus. A Police Department cant toss a clients Constitutional Rights under the bus to make good television. As dalia waited for a jury of six to decide her fate flanked by her attorneys she spoke exclusively to dateline. For the past seven years i mena this has been a complete nightmare. Reporter she told us it began when she claimed to be the victim of Domestic Abuse her accusation her now exhusband michael strongly denies. She said she was used by the Boynton Beach police. Were here because they turned what should have been a complaint in getting me help and, you know, questioning me and stuff into this big production for a cops tv show deadline and created these scenarios and putting me in these situations that look horrible. The police say they did not ignore a Domestic Abuse case. They were trying to stop a murderforhire plot and those cops tv cameras didnt change the substance of their investigation into dalia. Did you have your husband mike dead . No. Were you soliciting his murder. Absolutely not. As you were charged in the courthouse. No. After nearly ten hours of deliberation half of the jury seemed to agree. To the judge we the jury after further deliberation still cannot reach a unanimous verdict. Reporter the judge was forced to declare a mistrial. Meanwhile, Mike Dippolito was glued to the tv, beside himself. Ill be honest, i was watching. And im like, what . And im thinking to myself what do these people need to see . You know, shes on video sayin she wants to have me killed to two different people, one being a police officer. Reporter but he is strangely philosophical about the barebones prosecution. Do you think they did anything wrong with how they presented it . Would you like her to see hard time. Yes. So on june 2nd, 2017 she went on trial again for the third time, this time the prosecutors who had come up short in the previous trial with their shorthand account of the case presented the full shakespearean version of dalias story. Murder her husband in cold blood, have two bullets put in his head. The judge admitted testimony previously not presented that she once tried to poison her husband. She told you she researched something on the internet about antifreeze odorless doesnt have a smell, doesnt have a color and she put it in his tea. And that she had previously tried to hire a hit man to kill her husband before the murderforhire plot that was caught on camera. Im so horny for you lurid Text Messages were read out in which dalia discussed framing mike by planting cocaine in his car and then alerting the police. We need drugs in the car and it will put him away for awhile. Reporter this time dalias defense wasnt Strong Enough for that onslaught of evidence. After just 90 minutes of deliberation, the jury returned its verdict. We find the defendant guilty of solicitation to commit first degree murder. Dalia was taken away. Her family sobbing. And the following month after a crushing victim impact statement. The girl tried killing me probably three or four times. Handed me an ice tea with antifreeze in it, smiled at me. Reporter the judge sentenced her to 16 years in state prison. A month later she was back in court again, her lawyers arguing the trial wasnt valid because the testimony about dalia trying to poison her husband should never have been allowed. But by now she was cooked. Perhaps her last ray of hope for freedom will come in her latest petition to the Supreme Court of the united states. But for now Dalia Dippolito, the real housewife of Boynton Beach who became a worldwide reality tv sensation is now simply florida inmate w42222. Yes, really. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Im natalie morales. Thanks for watching. Im craig melvin. Im natalie morales. And this is dateline. He had already told me that guys were flying up from florida, the black ops. At that point, it got a little scary. Theyre here to do a job, and theyre going to kill someone. This is crazy. In a marriage, three is a crowd. Youre seeing another woman. Right. What do you think it was . Chemistry. And chemistry can be explosive. Youre off with your girlfriend in the bahamas this is now the marriage from hell