Bob Bashara Sentenced for Hiring Hitman for St. Clair Shores Man

Grosse Pointe Park resident Bob Bashara was sentenced this morning on a charge that he hired a hitman to kill Joe Gentz, the one-time St. Clair Shores handyman charged with killing Bashara's wife last January.  

Today, Bashara was sentenced to serve 80 to 240 months in prison for the crime.

The Detroit Free Press reported that Bashara said in court, "I am truly and humbly sorry for my actions. I apologize to this court. I apologize to Mr. Gentz. I apologize to my family and friends."

According to the Detroit News, Bashara told Wayne County Circuit Judge Bruce U. Morrow, "I understand I must pay for what I have done. I absolutely stand before you and my family and the world, to take responsibility for my actions. I can't tell you how ashamed I am of what I did and how regretful I am of my actions, sir."

On Oct. 11, Bashara pleaded guilty to the charge of solicitation of murder. He admitted to , to find someone to kill Joe Gentz.  Recordings of conversations between Tibaudo and Bashara discussing hiring a hitman for $20,000 were presented in 36th District Court earlier this year.

Gentz, who is charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy charges in the slaying of Jane Bashara, was in the courtroom today during Bashara's sentencing, the Detroit Free Press reported. Gentz's trial is set for Jan. 7 in Wayne County Circuit Court.  Jane Bashara was found strangled in her SUV in Detroit last January.

Bob Bashara, named as a suspect in his wife's death, has not been charged in her murder case.