Man’s alleged plot scares ex-wife

Donna Chu testified in Circuit Court yesterday that she's concerned for the safety of her family and is still in shock that her ex-husband had twice tried to hire someone to kill her current husband.

"I had no clue that he could spend five years plotting and planning to murder a man he's never even had a conversation with," she said.

The ex-husband, Anthony Mark Albert, is charged with two counts of criminal solicitation. His trial is scheduled for later this month.

He remains in custody unable to post $1 million bail, but prosecutors are asking Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall to order Albert to remain in custody without bail.

A hearing on the request was held yesterday and will continue next Wednesday.

Chu and Albert had two children together, a girl, 10, and a boy, 9.

They divorced in June 2003. Chu got custody of the children and Albert got weekend visitation.

Since his indictment for the two criminal solicitation charges in January, Albert has lost his visitation rights.

"I'm just concerned that if he was this angry before, now that he's lost visitation to his children, how much more angry he must be now," Chu said.

In February 2007, a confidential informant told police that Albert was looking for someone to kill his ex-wife's then-boyfriend, according to court records. On March 6, 2007, an undercover police officer met Albert and told him the killing would cost him between $15,000 and $20,000, and Albert agreed to the amount, the court documents said.

The two went on a drive to Sand Island, where Albert told the undercover officer the intended victim owns a business that would be the location for the killing, according to court documents. He also told the undercover officer he paid someone else $5,000 to do the job but that the person reneged.