A would-be hitman was busted by the feds this week for plotting the Midtown murder of a purported businessman — but the entire rubout plot was hatched by the FBI, federal prosecutors charged Thursday.
The wannabe button-man, Hyunkook Korsiak, was arrested by FBI agents in Tarrytown on Wednesday and was carrying a small arsenal, including two AR-15 rifles, two 9MM handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, according to federal prosecutors.
Korsiak, 41, also allegedly had rifle scopes, high-capacity magazines, latex gloves and a latex mask.
Federal agents ensnared Korsiak, of Maine, in the murder-for-hire plot after officials from the Bureau of Prisons learned he had communicated his desire to become a hired gun with someone else, according to a federal criminal complaint filed against him in Manhattan.
The agents introduced Korsiak to an undercover agent posing as a member of a “transnational criminal organization,” who allegedly paid the would-be gunman $30,000 at a series of meetings from January to March 2023 in New York and Boston.
At a Jan. 12 meeting in Battery Park, the undercover agent told Korsiak about the purported mark of the hit, telling him: “this person comes to New York and doesn’t leave breathing.”
Korsiak allegedly responded: “You just tell me where to go and what to do and you know I can make that happen.”
At another meeting on March 2, the undercover agent gave Korsiak a latex mask that he requested to beat any facial recognition he may run into on the day of the planned murder, the complaint states.
Federal agents arrested Korsiak in Tarrytown on Wednesday after he met with the undercover officer, law enforcement officials said.
He was hit with one count of murder for hire and one count of being a felon in possession of a weapon, prosecutors said. He faces a maximum of 25 years in prison if convicted.
Attorney information for Korsiak was not immediately available.
