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Man wanted people killed with ice pick, police say

 
Published Sept. 10, 2000|Updated Sept. 27, 2005

Martin G. Berian wanted three people killed and he wanted someone else to stab them with an ice pick, the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office said.

The 62-year-old Tampa man was willing, according to a sheriff's report, to pay $2,000 for each murder. The only problem was the person he hired to do the killings was an undercover agent.

Deputies arrested Berian at his home at 12224 N Florida Ave., No. 5, Friday night and charged him with three counts of solicitation to commit first-degree murder. He was being held in jail without bond Saturday.

According to an arrest report, he told the undercover agent where to find each person and how long it would take for each person to die. He gave the agent a map showing where to find the first victim, the report said.

Sgt. Harold Winsett would not disclose the names of those Berian wanted killed or a possible motive in the murder-for-hire plot, saying it is still under investigation.

Berian is retired, but worked for a brief time as a phone solicitor for American Annuity Exchange in St. Petersburg, records show.

Art McClure, with American Annuity, said: "He was a pretty colorful guy. He told us he was a medical doctor who had lost his license."

State records show he obtained a medical license in 1977, but that is is no longer valid.

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