Suspect in political operative’s slaying has bloody past

By DAVID PORTER
Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — More clues could be revealed Thursday in one of New Jersey’s most baffling murder cases. George Bratsenis, a 73-year-old career criminal from Connecticut, is scheduled in federal court for a plea hearing. In January, he was named by a co-conspirator as being involved in the death of political consultant Michael Galdieri in 2014. Sean Caddle, another political consultant who had worked with Galdieri, pleaded guilty to paying for the hit. Bratsenis has a long criminal history dating back more than 40 years, and served time in prison with the man who implicated him in the murder plot. A motive for the slaying hasn’t been revealed publicly.