Man hires hit man to kill family, including his wife and 7-year-old daughter

A man tried to hire hit man to kill three family members, including his 7-year-old daughter, and requested that she be shot once in the chest, so she could be an open casket at her funeral, authorities say.

John Orlowski, 49, was arrested Friday and was due to appear in federal court Monday.

"Thankfully the plot was uncovered by law enforcement, and three innocent victims avoided a horrible tragedy," U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said.

Orlowski faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted of attempting to arrange murder by hire.

Orlowski met the man he wanted to kill his wife, daughter and mother-in-law earlier this year while they were both jail inmates, according to court documents.

He approached the man again after they were both released, and gave him a diagram of his wife's house indicating the location of bedrooms "where the targets slept," and a location in the home where he could find a pistol, according to court documents.

But the man was troubled by the plot, especially the prospect of killing a child, so he told his mother, and she called the FBI.

Working with the FBI, the man met with Orlowski on Friday and taped a conversation in which Orlowski specified how many bullets he wanted in each victim - one in the chest for his daughter and two each in the head for his wife and mother-in-law, according to authorities.

Orlowski's wife took out a restraining order against him earlier this year and police seized 121 guns from his home. During a subsequent arrest for violating the restraining order, Orlowski was caught with a 9 mm handgun.