Murder-for-hire defendant released from Will County jail

A former Homer Glen lawyer who won his appeal in a murder-for-hire case has been released from jail.

About 10:30 a.m. Dec. 22, Robert W. Gold-Smith, 57, was released from the Will County jail after his brother-in-law posted 10% of his $150,000 bond, according to court records.

On Oct. 22, the 3rd District Appellate Court reversed Gold-Smith’s conviction for trying to hire a fellow inmate to kill his ex-wife, Victoria Smith, in 2011 after finding a judge was wrong to deny his motion for a new judge in the case.

Gold-Smith’s case is pending in Will County court and his next hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 7.

Gold-Smith, who said he is staying with his brother-in-law in Elmwood Park, said the murder-for-hire case against him is centered on a “blatantly and flagrantly fabricated recording.”

He said an inmate pretended to be him while wearing a wire and saying in the audio recording that he wanted to kill his ex-wife.

“I was wrongfully convicted by Will County prosecutors and they were all aware of the fact that the evidence was fabricated against me,” he said.

State’s attorney’s office spokeswoman Carole Cheney said her office cannot comment on the facts of ongoing litigation given the ethical restraints placed on prosecutors to “help ensure fair judicial proceedings.”

“We can state, however, that this matter previously went up on appeal and the appellate court did not question the efficacy of the proofs offered by the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office underlying the finding of guilt,” Cheney said.

The appellate decision said a “reasonable finder of fact” could find Gold-Smith guilty of solicitation of murder beyond a reasonable doubt.

Gold-Smith said he was first taken to jail in 2011 after he was charged with punching his ex-wife in the face after a court hearing in their divorce case.

He was taken to prison in 2017 after former Judge Daniel Rozak sentenced him to 30 years for his solicitation of murder conviction.

He was brought back to jail Dec. 12 after he won his appeal.

Since Gold-Smith has been released, he said his life has been “tough.”

“I have a lot of obstacles to overcome. It’s a real dirty thing that happened to me,” Gold-Smith said.