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Mother Allegedly Involved In Murder-For-Hire Scheme To Kill Daughter's Boyfriend

LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) —A Lawndale mother has been accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill her daughter's boyfriend.

Adelina Cristobal, 45, was charged in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles Monday with using interstate commerce facilities—a cellphone— to conduct transactions and talk about the alleged murder-for-hire scheme.

34-year-old Antonio Quevedo, Cristobal's friend and reported accomplice, was also charged.

On Jan. 22, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives began their joint investigation with the Los Angeles Police Department after they received "information that (the defendants) were attempting to solicit someone to commit a murder on their behalf," according to ATF Special Agent Christian Hoffman.

Court documents state that an undercover officer posing as a hit man was offered money to make Cristobal's daughter's boyfriend "disappear."

"They offered the undercover agent $6,500 to murder this individual," said Hoffman.

Cristobal reportedly wanted the man dead because "the victim owed her money and was romantically involved with her daughter." He also allegedly threatened her husband.

Cristobal, Quevedo, a confidential informant, and the undercover officer met in the parking lot of Lawndale's Mar de Oro restaurant on Jan. 24, where Cristobal's college-aged daughter worked, according to court papers.

Cristobal told the officer that her husband was in on the scheme and wanted the boyfriend — his nephew — dead, but she did not want her daughter to find out.

Cristobal allegedly provided the officer with details on the intended victim, including a picture from her cellphone, and told the officer to tell the target: "This is so you remember not to get involved with my daughter and me."

She also asked to be sent a picture "after it's done," according to federal documents.

Cristobal and Quevedo were arrested shortly after the meeting.

KCAL9's Serene Branson reported that Cristobal told ATF agents that she never intended to have her daughter's boyfriend killed.

The defendants face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of the charges.

 (TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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