This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Park City man has pleaded no contest to trying to hire undercover police to kill a man he believed was having sex with his girlfriend.
Dustin Wade Ruffino, 45, entered the plea last week in Heber's 4th District Court to one count of attempted solicitation of homicide, a second-degree felony.
Ruffino faces up to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 21 by Judge Roger Griffin.
In January, the Wasatch-Back Narcotics Enforcement Team were "conducting undercover interactions" with Ruffino, not knowing that they were law enforcement, according to a Wasatch County Sheriff's Office news release.
Ruffino allegedly sold methamphetamine to an undercover officer, then solicited the officer's help in murdering a man he believed was engaging in a sexual relationship with his girlfriend," according to the news release and court records.
"Coordinating with Utah County Major Crimes Task Force, [the] detectives met multiple times with Ruffino as he continued to solicit their help in carrying-out the murder," the release reads. "Ruffino told undercover officers where to find the targeted individual, provided a down-payment and promised to pay additional cash once the victim was killed."
The detectives arrested him on Jan. 15 and booked him into Wasatch County jail.
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