Minister Gets 4-Year Term For Attempting To Hire Hit Man

A TV evangelist was sentenced to four years in prison Tuesday for trying to hire a hit man to kill his lover’s ex-husband.

“Prison is a great place to witness for Christ,” George Crossley, 58, said as he was led away. “I’m going to share my faith.”

He could have gotten 8-1/2 years behind bars.

Crossley was convicted in December of solicitation to commit murder for hiring an undercover agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to “do something about” George “Butch” Waldo. Crossley offered the agent a gun as payment.

The minister, a married man, had had an affair with Waldo’s then-wife. Waldo retaliated by making harassing calls to Crossley at home, telephoning the TV and radio stations where he worked and contacting his advertisers to tell them about the affair.

Circuit Judge Seymour Benson expressed sympathy for Crossley’s ailing 70-year-old wife, Agnes.

Agnes Crossley told the judge she is destitute and relies on donations from friends now that Crossley is in jail. She said she needs her husband to take care of her.

“It seems to me that usually the most innocent suffer the most,” the judge said. “She’s going to suffer because of the sentence.”