The Long Island woman accused of plotting a hit on her estranged husband may have tried to wreck his life once before.
Susan Williams, in jail for allegedly agreeing to pay an assassin $20,000 to kill husband Peter, also orchestrated his May 11, 2008, drunken-driving arrest, he has told his lawyer.
Peter claims she had two thugs drive him off the road, lawyer Nancy Dreeben said. Posing as cops, the goons then took his keys and called 911 to report he was driving erratically, the lawyer said.
“He believes it was a setup,” Dreeben said. “Anybody that gets in her way, they better watch out.”
Peter Williams was arrested that night in the couple’s home town of Garden City, LI, for driving under the influence. The case is still pending.
“The charges will be dropped,” Dreeben said.
Susan Williams was arrested by Nassau County cops Thursday for allegedly hiring an undercover cop posing as a hit man to murder her husband.
She gave the cop a $500 deposit that would go toward the final $20,000 bill, and told him she wanted Peter “gone,” according to prosecutors.
Susan remains in Nassau County jail on $500,000 bond.
Her lawyer, Stanley Kopilow, denied the 2008 setup yesterday.
“How can you frame someone for drunk driving? They’re either drunk or they’re not,” Kopilow told The Post.
The lawyer added that Peter has operated a “campaign of terror” against his wife and their four children by physically abusing them and withholding funds.
Kopilow said his client was “shellshocked” at being arrested and that cops were “walking a fine line of entrapment” by offering to kill Peter for her.
The Williamses are in a bitter divorce, with Susan accusing him of child abuse and forcing her to have deviate sex. Peter claims that his wife stole assets from him and convinced a judge to order that he pay $11,000 a month in child support for their four kids.
Peter said in a statement to The Post yesterday: “The main concern I have is the best interest of my children, that I love and from whom I have been alienated for the last two years by my wife.”
“I have already been in contact with my children, and I’m looking forward to reuniting with them and taking care of them.”
Additional reporting by Taylor K. Vecsey