Woman charged for lying about murder plot under oath
A Madison woman who took the witness stand in a paternity case to say she had been paid $2,000 to hire someone to kill a well-known Madison attorney was charged Monday with false swearing.
Janie P. Ocejo, 33, was testifying in a paternity action brought by Maria Isabel Garcia against the attorney, Victor Arellano, when she gave her startling assertion. Ocejo said Garcia had paid her $2,000 to "give to the men that Garcia was arranging to employ to kill the father of the child, Victor Arellano," the complaint says.
That testimony came on Aug. 22, 2008, as the paternity suit was being litigated. Arellano was eventually found to be the father of Garcia's child, who was born in March 2007.
Ocejo, the complaint says, recanted her testimony in October and said the allegations she made against Garcia were false.
Testifying at her own probation revocation proceeding on Oct. 29, 2008, Ocejo said she "completely made up," the story about hiring hit men to kill Arellano "because she was angry with Garcia and knew, if she provided information to Arellano about the alleged plot, that Arellano would use the information against Garcia," the complaint says.
Ocejo reiterated during the revocation hearing that she did not get any money from Garcia and that she did not give money to any prospective hit man, the complaint says.
She was under oath both at the August hearing when she made the initial accusation and at the revocation hearing when she recanted and said the whole story was made up, the complaint says.
The felony charge of false swearing would normally carry a maximum penalty of six years of combined prison and extended supervision, but because Ocejo has previous convictions for forgery, she was charged as a repeat criminal and could face a total of 10 years.
Garcia was one of three women who filed complaints against Arellano in 2007 with the Office of Lawyer Regulation, contending Arellano had sexual affairs with them while they were his clients. Arellano denied the allegations and called the claims "vile."
