Lawyer Defends NJ Diner Manager in Murder Plot

A lawyer representing a New Jersey diner manager charged in a murder-for-hire plot says the man's entire family is in shock.

Attorney Matthew Cavaliere told the Associated Press Thursday that his client, Georgios Spyropoulos, and the man's wife and family are "mortified and distraught" over the charges.

Prosecutors say the 45-year-old Spyropoulos, who manages the Tick Tock Diner in Clifton, tried to hire a hit man to kidnap, torture and kill his uncle, Alexandros Sgourdos, so he could steal his money.

Sgourdos co-owns the New Jersey diner and a second Tick Tock in Manhattan.

Cavaliere says the attorney general's version of what happened "is certainly sensational" but doesn't represent the full story.

Cavaliere says his client, due in court Friday, will plead not guilty.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)