Man Charged in Alleged Murder-for-Hire Plot Against Ex-Girlfriend and Her New Partners, DA Reports

In Pennsylvania, a man named Eric Berkowitz is at the center of a chilling case involving alleged plans to murder his ex-girlfriend and two men she dated after their breakup. The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office has brought serious charges against Berkowitz, including multiple counts each of criminal solicitation for murder, attempted murder, and recklessly endangering another person.

According to authorities, Berkowitz, aged 41, approached an individual on Tuesday with a shocking proposition. He allegedly offered this person, identified as Steven Luker, $5,000 to carry out the killings of three people residing in New York. Berkowitz reportedly provided Luker with not only the names and addresses of the intended victims but also a Mac 11, a type of machine pistol often fully automatic, to execute the plan.

To facilitate communication, Berkowitz is said to have handed Luker a “burner” cellphone. The strategy, as outlined by the district attorney’s office, involved Berkowitz and Luker traveling to New York the following day to rendezvous near the residence of one of the intended targets. The individuals targeted by Berkowitz’s alleged plot were his former partner and two men she had been involved with since their lengthy seven-year relationship ended.

In a critical turn of events, Luker decided to alert the authorities. He approached the Upper Dublin Township Police Department to expose Berkowitz’s alleged plan. Working in collaboration with the police, Luker helped to capture a recorded conversation with Berkowitz. During this exchange, Berkowitz purportedly reaffirmed their intentions to converge in New York, just a street away from one of the victim’s homes.

Luker reportedly approached the Upper Dublin Township Police Department and told them about Berkowitz’s alleged scheme. Luker and officers worked to record a conversation between the two men, during which authorities said “Berkowitz confirmed the plan to go to New York where they would meet one street over from the home of an intended target.”

According to the DA’s office, Berkowitz said that he would “take care of the girl himself.”

The following day, as the suspect exited his home in Upper Dublin and got into an Uber, police stopped the vehicle and arrested him. Authorities said he was carrying “a duffel bag containing a black Masterpiece Arms Grim Reaper firearm with a loaded magazine containing 23 9 mm rounds of ammunition, cocaine and a large sum of cash.”

When officers interviewed the Uber driver, he reportedly informed them the suspect’s destination was a home in Endicott, New York, about a 175-mile drive north. When investigators learned the address, they discovered it was where Berkowitz’s former girlfriend resided.

“I’d like to commend Mr. Luker for immediately contacting police after he was approached by the defendant to participate in this murder scheme,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele. “He ultimately saved the lives of three innocent people.”

A judge denied Berkowitz bail during his arraignment, and he was booked into the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Feb. 20.