Man accused of hiring hitman to kill estranged wife, family

A 38-year-old man has been arrested by Phoenix police after allegedly hiring a man to kill his wife and her family.

Demitri Rozenman, of Mesa, is charged with four counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

"Through the course of the investigation, detectives heard that Mr. Rozenman was disgruntled over terms of the divorce he was going through with his wife," said Sgt. Tommy Thompson. "This man contracted to have his wife and her family assassinated."

Court documents showed that in the divorce settlement, Rozenman was ordered to pay $475,000 to his wife for her interest in their properties.

Rozenman owns a cigar business in Phoenix and Scottsdale.

The couple's divorce was finalized in January. The couple has joint custody of 3-year-old twins.

Thompson said, "He went ahead and contracted to have her her sister and her parents killed. Throughout the course of the investigation, at no time did Mr. Rozenman ever try to contact authorities and let them know that his wife might be in danger. Even after he was told that the four of them had been killed."

Thompson said police stopped the plot "dead in its tracks."