Daniel Miller pleads guilty to hitman scheme

Inwood resident Daniel Miller, 48, who owned the Santeria religious-supply store Botanica Inle-Osain in the community, pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges that he did hire a hitman to kill a teenager he sexually abused three years ago.
Miller drugged and sexually assaulted a then 17-year-old male employee of the store. He gave the young man, who had just begun working at the store, a cup containing a liquid mixed with Lorazepam, a drug that slows brain activity and impairs equilibrium, and encouraged him to drink it. The teen, unaware that he was being drugged, woke up at 4 a.m. in Miller’s house. Miller then drove the young man home.
While in jail, Miller admitted to trying to hire someone to kill the teen. Miller’s Mother, Mary, her daughter, Ann, both of Inwood, pleaded guilty on March 1, 2012 for their involvement in the foiled murder plot that occurred on Jan. 3 of that year.
Miller also pleaded guilty on April 21 to grand larceny charges for stealing more than $200,000 by passing bad checks.