BY Melissa Grace and Bill Hutchinson
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Friday, April 30th 2010, 4:00 AM
A murderous Manhattan woman afraid to face her two sons in court pleaded guilty Thursday to hiring a hit man to whack their wealthy dad two decades ago.
Barbara Kogan, 68, admitted in Manhattan Supreme Court to having her husband, George Kogan, killed outside his girlfriend's pad so she could cash in on $4.3 million in life insurance policies she secretly had taken out.
She faces 12-36 years in prison.
"I've always known that she did it. I've known for 20 years," a close relative of George Kogan told the Daily News last night. "There was nobody else that could have done it."
Kogan took the plea deal because "she did not want to face her children in court," her lawyer Barry Levin said.
During the hearing, prosecutor Joel Seidemann grilled Kogan, who has been in jail for two years, and got her to confess that she conspired with crooked divorce lawyer Manuel Martinez in the 1990 double-indemnity murder.
"Did Mr. Martinez tell you he was going to hire a hit man?" Seidemann asked Kogan.
Answering in an emotionless voice, Kogan said, "Yes."
"And did you agree with him to participate in the killing of your husband?" Seidemann inquired.
"Yes," Kogan responded.
Levin said later, "It was a circumstantial case in which she was her own worst enemy."
A source said prosecutors subpoenaed recordings of Kogan's phone conversations at Rikers in which she discussed the case.
Levin predicted she would be out of jail in 10 years.
Besides greed, Kogan's deadly decision was fueled by anger over being dumped by her 49-year-old husband, an antiques dealer, for his 28-year-old publicist, prosecutors said.
After living in Puerto Rico for years, Barbara Kogan was arrested in November 2008, seven months after Martinez was convicted of murder in connection with the hit.
Kogan pleaded guilty to felony manslaughter, conspiracy to commit murder and grand larceny.
whutchinson@nydailynews.com
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/04/30/2010-04-30_wife_admits_role_in_hubby_murder.html?print=1&page=all#ixzz0maFzhY8u
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