Two defendants were sentenced Thursday in Ontario County for a murder-for-hire scheme hatched while one of them was already behind bars for a violent rape. Judge Richard Healy sharply condemned the plot before issuing the sentences, calling the conduct “outrageous.”
Investigators said the plan originated with Alexander Kise, who was in the county jail awaiting sentencing for a 2022 rape conviction when he began threatening to have several people killed. The targets included a witness from his trial, Ontario County Assistant District Attorney Victoria Porter, and former Judge Brian Dennis.
Dennis, now retired, appeared in court and described the shock of learning he had been marked for harm. “I had never been a crime victim until this,” he said in court. “It changed my life and my family’s life. Mr. Kise deserves every bit of the sentence the court is about to hand down.”
Prosecutors said Kise and his girlfriend, Alydia Gater of Greece, recruited what they believed was a hitman, offering roughly $1,750 in Xanax as payment. The “hitman” turned out to be an undercover New York State Police investigator. Wayne County District Attorney Christine Callanan, acting as special prosecutor, said Gater functioned as Kise’s link to the outside world and helped move the plan forward.
Kise’s underlying rape case was resolved in March 2024, when a jury found he had held an 18-year-old woman captive for two days in June 2022 and repeatedly assaulted and threatened her. He was ultimately sentenced to 35 years in prison for those crimes.
The murder-for-hire plot came to light the following month, leading to conspiracy charges against both Kise and Gater. On Thursday, Healy added another 5 to 15 years to Kise’s prison term after he pleaded guilty to two conspiracy counts. Gater, who also admitted guilt, received a sentence of 2 to 6 years.
Orders of protection were issued for the victims. Defense attorneys declined to comment.
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