A Maryland man who wanted his former girlfriend’s friend killed was sentenced to 10 years behind bars Wednesday for his role in a murder-for-hire plot.

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Melvin Taplet, 49, of Elkton, was found guilty by a jury in February of use of a facility in interstate commerce to commit murder-for-hire. He is set to be sentenced in March and faces up to 10 years behind bars.

Authorities said Taplet wanted to kill a friend of his former girlfriend. He blamed the friend for sabotaging his relationship.

Taplet offered a man identified only as “Jay” $1,500 as a down payment to kill the friend. Over the next few months, he offered $7,000 to carry out the crime, authorities said.

Unknown to Taplet, authorities were investigating the case. Taplet was arrested before anyone was harmed in the case.