Millionaire Gets Life in Murder for Hire

A Texas millionaire was sentenced to life in prison in San Antonio for hiring a hit man who killed his ex-wife while her 2-year-old quadruplets played nearby. U.S. District Judge Ed Prado gave Allen Blackthorne, 45, two life sentences and fined him $250,000 for his part in the November 1997 murder of Sheila Bellush, who was remarried and living in Sarasota, Fla., when she was killed. Prado said Blackthorne, who made a fortune selling medical equipment, had no chance for parole under federal sentencing guidelines. Blackthorne was convicted in July of asking golfing buddy and bookie Daniel Rocha to find someone to kill his former wife after she got their two teenage daughters in a bitter custody battle. He insists he is not guilty and has appealed the conviction.