THIS RAMBO HAD A TOTAL AND COMPLETE LACK OF RESPECT FOR HUMAN LIFE

Former U.S. soldier turned mercenary nicknamed 'RAMBO' who arranged the contract killing of a real estate agent in the Philippines sentenced to life in prison

By Associated Press and Chris Dyer

Daily Mail
March 11, 2019

A former U.S. soldier nicknamed 'Rambo' who became a mercenary for drug dealers was sentenced to life in prison for arranging a contract killing.

Joseph Hunter, a decorated U.S. Army sniper instructor with Special Forces training, was convicted over the killing of a broker who was shot in the face in cold blood.

The 53-year-old and two other ex-American soldiers agreed to become contract killers for an international crime boss who wanted to settle a score with real estate agent, Catherine Lee, in the Philippines in February 2012.

Two other ex-soldiers, Adam Samia, 44, and Carl David Stillwell, 51, both of Roxboro, North Carolina, arranged for Lee to show them several real estate properties.

During the viewing Samia then shot Lee twice in the face with a pistol that had a silencer before he and Stillwell dumped her body on a pile of garbage, prosecutors said.

Samia and Stillwell, convicted at trial along with Hunter, were already sentenced to life in prison.

Hunter was also already serving a 20-year sentence for conspiracy to kill a DEA agent, in a case that was described as 'ripped from the pages of a Tom Clancy novel'.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in 2013 upon his arrest: 'The sentencing of Joseph Hunter...ends another chapter in a chilling criminal case that spanned the globe.'

Hunter was brought to the United States in 2013 to face conspiracy charges.

He pleaded guilty in 2016 after being caught in a sting operation mounted with the help of his former boss, Paul Le Roux, an international criminal kingpin who turned government snitch after being arrested in 2012.

Hunter potted to kill the DEA agent and informant and a cooperating witness in Liberia in 2013, as well as recruiting others for assassination assignments.

Hunter was to be paid $100,000 while two snipers he recruited were to be paid $700,000, prosecutors said.

Hunter was arrested occurred in Phuket, Thailand, but authorities said he and his gang ranged all over southeast Asia trafficking drugs.

But it was the killing of Lee in the Philippines that resulted in a conviction at trial and sentencing last Thursday.

Prosecutors said after leaving the military, Hunter tortured, kidnapped and killed people for years along with other former soldiers.

U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams in Manhattan said he carried out his crimes, including arranging the February 2012 murder of a real estate agent in the Philippines, for money.

The judge said she had never before seen such a 'total and complete lack of respect for human life'.

Judge Abrams said Hunter had 'planned and committed truly horrific crimes' and then spoke of kidnapping, torture and assassination to recruits as if 'it was a business, plain and simple'.

The judge, who recalled re-watching videos introduced at trial of Hunter instructing recruits as she prepared for the sentencing, added: 'I was struck by how matter-of-fact it was.'

She said the only emotion she detected was pride as Hunter said the work would be like performing in a 'James Bond' movie.

'This wasn't a movie. Real lives were taken,' Abrams added.

The life prison sentence announced by Abrams was mandatory. Hunter, listed with the alias 'Rambo' in an indictment, was serving a 20-year prison term after another conviction.

A defense lawyer, Arnold Jay Levine, had cited post-traumatic stress disorder as a mitigating factor, saying years in the military had taken a toll on Hunter.

'The country still owes something to Mr. Hunter', he said.

Hunter, from Owensboro, Kentucky, who served in the U.S. Army from 1983 to 2004, declined to speak before the sentence was announced.

In the Army Hunter led air-assault and airborne infantry squads, served as a sniper instructor and trained soldiers in marksmanship.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: 'With zero regard for human life, Joseph Hunter callously helped to arrange the murder of a Filipino woman in exchange for money.

'He and his co-defendants have now been sentenced to life behind bars for their heartless crimes.'

In a recording during his 2016 trial, the former sniper instructor told his crew about past exploits and boasting about past exploits, including 'bonus work' or assassinations.

He bragged about smuggling gold and weapons from Jakarta to the Philippines on ships.