A man is under arrest for trying to have the key witness in the Hugo Selenski double murder trial killed.
The man, Michael Scerbo of Milford, was released from prison Friday and serving time on a forgery conviction, and just as he walked into freedom, police arrested him for trying to arrange the hit.
Moments after Scerbo was released from Retreat state prison Friday morning, state troopers took him back in custody.
Investigators said he had a cell next to accused murderer Hugo Selenski and plotted to have the key witness in Selenski's upcoming trial killed.
Michael Scerbo is accused of plotting to kill Paul Weakley, the man scheduled to testify against Selenski at Selenski's upcoming double murder trial in Luzerne County.
Investigators said on different occasions while Scerbo was locked up in two separate prisons, he talked to both Weakley and Selenski.
State police said while in at the SCI Retreat near Shickshinny Scerbo wanted Paul Weakley killed and met with someone he thought was a hit man. It turns out that hit man was actually an undercover trooper.
Investigators believe Scerbo plotted to kill Weakley to prevent Weakley from testifying against his alleged partner in crime Hugo Selenski.
Paul Weakley admitted that he and Selenski killed Tammy Fassett and Michael Kerkowski in 2002 over drug money.
Their bodies were discovered buried in Selenski's back yard in Kingston Township in 2003.
In October of 2003, Selenski escaped from the Luzerne County prison, but was captured a few days later.
According to court papers, Scerbo and Weakley were in jail together in 2008 in Pike County and at that time Weakley told Scerbo he cut a deal with federal prosecutors in exchange for testifying against Selenski.
Then in 2011 Scerbo and Selenski were in adjacent cells at Retreat state prison.
Prosecutors said that is when the murder plot was planned because Scerbo considered Weakley a rat.
Scerbo told another inmate he had connections to get Weakley killed before Weakley could testify against Selenski.
Investigators said the inmate hooked Scerbo up with a contact who ended up being the undercover trooper.
Scerbo told that undercover trooper he would pay $1,000 to have Weakley killed.
Michael Scerbo is now charged with soliciting to commit criminal homicide. He is locked up at the Luzerne County jail on $250,000 bail.
The district attorney's said the Hugo Selenski double murder trial is scheduled to begin this September.