IR Shores man charged in 'murder-for-hire' plot sent to prison in case involving sex with girl

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VERO BEACH – An Indian River Shores area business owner facing charges related to an alleged 'murder-for-hire plot' was ordered to prison after a judge on June 6 found him guilty of sexual activity with a minor in a case that began in 2021.
Circuit Judge Robert Meadows ordered Andrew Michael Mustapick, 70, of the 1000 block of Morningside Drive, to serve 15 years in prison as part of a plea deal he entered with the state on March 27, court records show.
In that case, Mustapick was charged with sexually assaulting a then 17-year-old girl after Indian River County Sheriff's detectives were told he forced her into a "sex slave" contract over buying a car for her friend.
Records show Mustapick agreed to buy the older of the two girls a car in exchange for sex, but after the purchase, the 17-year-old was coerced into sex with Mustapick, who she said had her "sign a contract."
The teen reported being the victim of a sex crime that first occurred on June 8, 2020, at Mustapick's Morningside Drive home. She told investigators she went back to the home two more times driven by her friend in the 2017 white Volkswagen Jetta.
The teen told detectives after she stopped going to Mustapick's home 'after failing to uphold her end of the contract, (he) took the vehicle back.'
Mustapick was arrested Sept. 27, 2021, records show.
During Mustapick's June 6 sentencing hearing, Assistant State Attorney William Long urged Meadows to impose the maximum punishment of 15 years and specifically noted Mustapick's new May 5 arrest on two counts of soliciting someone to tamper with a victim, and unlawful use of a two-way communications device.
What Long didn't detail in court is that the new charges stem from what Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers on May 6 called a "murder-for-hire plot" Mustapick hatched to have the girl killed who was identified as the victim in his 2021 arrest.
Flowers has said they launched an investigation in March after a person related to Mustapick told detectives, 'he's trying to hire someone to kill the victim in this case … he wants to pay someone to kill this victim.'
He's accused in part of seeking or attempted to seek services to "use intimidation or physical force, or threaten" to keep someone from testifying at a criminal proceeding.
Since his arrest, Mustapick has been in custody in lieu of a $7 million bond, records show.
During Mustapick's June 6 sentencing, Long reminded Meadows that in the plea deal Mustapick signed, he agreed that if he committed a new offense while awaiting sentencing, "then I may be sentenced, including in my absence, to any lawful sentence which could be a greater sentence than agreed to ... and will not be able to withdraw my plea."
At that, Mustapick's attorney Bobby Guttridge said his client, who appeared in court wearing orange jail garb with chains at his waste and ankles, wished to withdraw his no contest plea.
In denying the request, Meadows noted Mustapick's signed plea agreement that required he not commit any new crimes while awaiting sentencing.
"He agreed that if he was charged with a new criminal offense while he was released and prior to sentencing, he would not be allowed to withdraw his ... plea and this court is going to hold Mr. Mustapick to his agreement with the state of Florida," Meadows ruled. "I'm going to sentence you to 15 years in the Department of Corrections and I am designating you as a sex offender.'
Mustapick, who has pleaded not guilty to his new charges, remained silent in court.
His victim though, who didn't appear, still spoke during the hearing, via her attorney Jessica J. Travis, who read aloud a statement to Meadows.
'I was helpless and a naive 17-year-old child, taken advantage of sexually and mentally for the sake of the defendant's own personal satisfaction,' Travis read from her phone.
'Just when I thought the nightmare was over, I was greeted with a new reality. He wanted me dead, my child an orphan. This man is a monster … The safest place for him to be is behind bars, so I am the last girl taken advantage of, and there will never be a next."
In announcing Mustapick's May 5 arrest, Sheriff Flowers at the time said the person who tipped them off with information would not be identified, but described the person as the 'hero of this case.
'We would not be here today if it weren't for that person,' he said.
In a series of meetings with undercover detectives, Flowers said Mustapick attempted to strike deals with someone he contacted to threaten, harm or kill the victim in his 2021 case and keep her from testifying.
At first, Flowers said he asked only that she be prevented from speaking or appearing (during a court proceeding), for which he paid $40,000 total. He then agreed, Flowers said, to pay an additional $50,000 to have her killed if she refused to comply.
'It would be cheaper just to kill her,' the person in a video, identified by Flowers as Mustapick, appeared to say in talks over money with someone off-camera said to be an undercover detective.
The video segment of Mustapick's talk with the undercover detective was dated May 1 and recorded inside Mustapick's home and showed him wearing blue gloves.
On May 5, before his arrest, Mustapick was captured in recordings by detectives attempting to dispose of electronic devices, including a laptop and hard drive, by throwing them into the St. Sebastian River.
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Flowers said bank envelopes and cash stored in his home safe matched amounts he was going to use to pay for the 'murder-for-hire plot."
To that end, sheriffs officials on May 19 filed a civil forfeiture case against Mustapick seeking to seize a 2021 Porsche Macan, $143,253 in cash and 38 $50 gold coins.
Melissa E. Holsman is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers and is writer and co-host of "Uncertain Terms," a true-crime podcast. Reach her at [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Man charged in 'murder-for-hire' plot sentenced in sex with minor case