FBI: Ex-aide to US Rep Bob Brady target in murder-for-hire

PHILADELPHIA – Federal authorities say a former political consultant to U.S. Rep. Bob Brady of Pennsylvania was the target of a murder-for-hire plot in connection with a corruption investigation in Arkansas and Missouri.

Court documents filed Monday in Missouri show 56-year-old Milton Cranford tried to hire a hit man to kill 62-year-old Donald Jones. Authorities say Jones was targeted because Cranston was afraid he would be implicated in a $1 million bribery scheme involving a Missouri non-profit.

Cranford, an Arkansas lobbyist, was arrested last month with a .45-calibre pistol and nearly $18,000 in cash that authorities say he planned to pay the hit man.

Cranford’s attorney denies the accusations, calling them “mischaracterizations” from “highly questionable sources.”

Prosecutors say charges related to the alleged murder plot are likely forthcoming, pending the result of the ongoing investigation.