Des Plaines man awaits murder-for-hire sentence

A Des Plaines man was convicted of murder-for-hire charges after trying to get a co-worker to kill his business partner in a Lyons excavation company, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

A jury deliberated for four hours Friday before finding Robert Mandel, 63, guilty on six counts of murder-for-hire following a weeklong trial in U.S. District Court.

Authorities said Mandel plotted to kill his business partner, Konstantinos Antinou, between August and December 2008. Mandel wanted to have Antinou killed so he could take over G & D Excavating, Inc. and sell the company's heavy equipment, which was worth $500,000 to $800,000.

In August 2008, Mandel asked a former G & D employee to kill Antinou, but that employee contacted a Chicago detective instead. The FBI later recorded several conversations with Mandel where he discussed his plans to have Antinou shot at his home.

The bad blood between the men dated back more than a year when Mandel sued Antinou in Cook County Circuit Court. Mandel filed the lawsuit to try and stop his business partner from selling tractor trailers. Mandel was arrested in December and the lawsuit was dismissed in January.

G & D Excavating is still in operation and Antinou is still the company's president, said U.S. Assistant Attorney Michael Chmelar.

Mandel remains in federal custody until his July 28 sentencing before U.S. District Judge William Hibbler. He could face a maximum jail sentence of 60 years and a fine of $1.5 million.