Poison Candy: The Murderous Madam: Inside Dalia Dippolito's Plot to Kill

by Elizabeth Parker, Mark Ebner, F. Lee Bailey (Foreword)

In August 2009, former madam Dalia Dippolito conspired with a hit man to arrange her ex-con husband’s murder. Days later, it seemed as if all had gone according to plan. The beautiful, young Dalia came home from her health club to an elaborate crime scene, complete with yellow tape outlining her townhome and police milling about. When Sgt. Frank Ranzie of the Boynton Beach, Florida, police informed her of her husband Michael’s apparent murder, the newlywed Dippolito can be seen on surveillance video collapsing into the cop’s arms, like any loving wife would—or any wife who was pretending to be loving would. The only thing missing from her performance were actual tears.

... And the only thing missing from the murder scene was an actual murder.

Tipped off by one of Dalia’s lovers, an undercover detective posing as a hit man met with Dalia to plot her husband's murder while his team planned, then staged the murder scenario—brazenly inviting the reality TV show Cops along for the ride. The Cops video went viral, sparking a media frenzy: twisted tales of illicit drugs, secret boyfriends, sex-for-hire, a cuckolded former con man, and the defense’s ludicrous claim that the entire hit had been staged by the intended victim for reality TV fame.

In Poison Candy, case prosecutor Elizabeth Parker teams with bestselling crime writer Mark Ebner take you behind and beyond the courtroom scenes with astonishing never-before-revealed facts, whipsaw plot twists in the ongoing appellate process, and exclusive photos and details far too lurid for the trial that led to 20 years in state prison for Dalia Dippolito.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Crime, Adult

322 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 4, 2014

About the author

Elizabeth Parker began as a prosecutor in the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office in 1998 where she quickly rose through the ranks and achieved the position of Chief Assistant State Attorney in which she litigated high-profile cases.

She has appeared on Dateline, Snapped, Sins and Secrets, Nothing Personal, and In Session for her role as the lead prosecutor in the Dalia Dippolito case. In 2011 Parker opened her own victim advocacy and criminal defense firm in Palm Beach County, Florida

As a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Elizabeth has appeared on Nancy Grace, In Session and in USA TODAY as a legal analyst on high profile cases such as Jerry Sandusky, George Zimmerman, John Goodman, Adam Kauffman, and Tammy Smith.

Reviews

[Chris Steeden · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘She was poison candy—sweet, delicious, mouthwatering on the outside, but deadly within, and designed to cripple the innocent. She was something only a monster could imagine, or something you’d find in a fairy tale.’

I have read Marcia Clark’s book, ‘Without a Doubt’ where she is prosecuting OJ Simpson. Poison Candy is also written by the chief prosecutor, Elizabeth Parker. It even has a Foreword by F. Lee Bailey, he of the OJ defence. He says ‘I regularly enjoy courtroom fiction masterfully orchestrated by the likes of Scott Turow, John Grisham, David Baldacci, and other authors of well-deserved stature. But for a hard-scrabble look at the way criminal cases really work, this book gets high marks. Read it.’ Will do Frank.

I knew nothing of this case so while reading the book I was also watching YouTube clips and documentaries on how Dalia Dippolito spoke to her friend, Mohamed Shihadeh, and asked if he knew a hitman that she could contract to kill her husband and then arranging the hit with the hitman. The friend had informed the police and the meet with the hitman, who was an undercover cop, was a sting. To top it all the TV show COPS just happened to be in South Florida riding with the Boynton Beach Police Department during the week that Dalia was arrested. Amazing stuff. Only in America.

How about the book then? It’s OK. The first half of the book is set-up for the trial. Backgrounds on Mike and Dalia Dippolito including the set-up for the hit. I must admit that a couple of bits were a little confusing especially how Dalia stole money from Mike. I just couldn’t get my head round what was going on there. The next half of the book is the trial. In Florida this crime is seen as a first-degree felony so had a jury of six and not twelve. It is not really a riveting exciting rollercoaster of a book. The issue is that the sting of Dalia and the hitman is the best bit and this can be viewed on YouTube. I found the book a little dry really. I love reading the interaction of real-life courtroom scenes but this is a bit laboured probably just due to the nature of the crime and the trial itself. Wait to you hear what the defence team have come up with. How they ever thought this would work I have no idea. They probably didn’t but just went with it as they did not have much to work with.

Oh well. I was glad I read it mind but you could probably get away with reading a couple of articles and watching the stuff on YouTube.

[Alisi ☆ wants to read too many books ☆ · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book can easily be summed up by this gif:



There's literally nothing I liked about this. Even the narrator. I'm still not sure if the narrator is an actual person and not a computer. It truly was read that badly.

When I finished this book, I had one question in mind: WHY? Why was this book written? There was no purpose to this book.

The writing itself was terrible enough, but we get a lot of slut shamming in the bargain as well. Like 'why'd he marry an escort? doesn't everyone know they don't make good wives' type shit. I hated all the added on insults the author flung to Dalia when she'd tag on 'fake tears' etc. And, while I understand to a degree that Parker would argue her guilt, I wish she hadn't done so so blatantly in this book.

As for the married couple, I didn't feel anything for them. If stupidity was a crime, Mike would be on death row and it got to the point were I was really angry at how much of a victim Park was portraying him as. He was trying to get a ponzi scheme going. That shit attacks the poor and middle class the worst and, with this current economy, that really hurts them. Her continual downplay of his porche was also annoying. In all, he's just a fucking stupid person. I found myself actually glad Dalia wasn't pregnant because we don't need that stupid in our gene pool anymore.

Do I feel anything for Dalia then? Absolutely not. She's fucking stupid too.

It was all just like ARG! Okay, this all happened. Good on Parker for upholding the law but should this have been made into a book? Absolutely not.

[Cecily Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story as a whole was interesting but I felt it was a bit repetitive and longer than it needed to be. I have had this on my TBR for a while so I am glad to have finally have read it.
Decent Read!!!

[Bibliophan (Angie M.) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd give it 2.5 Stars if I could... Would've given 3 stars, but there was a little too much sass in Mr. Parker's tone and much presumption on her part regarding how someone felt or what they meant by an action, comment or behavior, etc. However, you can tell how much time and effort was put in the book and obviously on the case, that I can't bring myself to score it any lower. The prosecution did an excellent job of collecting evidence, making sense of it not only to support their case but in order to share it with the judge and jury in an understandable way as well, and then building/re-building the timelines leading up to Dalia's arrest.. The defense on the other hand... I wouldn't hire that attorney to even handle a traffic ticket.

***SPOILERS*** (I guess if you know absolutely nothing of this case, you shouldn't read on unless you don't mind learning the outcome and other details beforehand...)

NOTE: To those listening to the audiobook like I did, I'm usually pretty happy with Karen White, but her attempts at any foreign accent in this book were so horrible, that if you don't think you will be able to stand a Latin American accent, Haitian accent and Middle Eastern accent sounding the same (and horrible) then I'd say you're better off reading the book instead. Oh, and adding scenes where they don't exist... Yea, pretty cringe-worthy throughout.

Back to the book review itself - while Ms. Parker and her team did a great job at providing more than enough evidence to prove Dalia guilty 10 times over, I think the book could have been written with a little less superiority and more humility, empathy and understanding for all the people that were very unwillingly dragged into the nightmare created by this sociopathic almost-successful murderess. Glad to know she's FINALLY going to jail after so many years of manipulating so many MEN into believing her asinine reality TV story or other unrealistic bull, which to this day, I still cannot understand how anyone, much less well-educated attorneys, could believe such nonsense. Too many victims in her path and though most of them weren't/aren't complete saints, they also didn't deserve to have their lives completely destroyed by this incredibly high profile case (of which I partially blame the people in charge at the Boynton Beach PD for the unnecessary staging of the crime for the sole purpose of dramatizing a foiled murder-for-hire plot just for a spotlight in an episode of COPS - however, I strongly believe the undercover tapes and audio would still have been enough to sensationalize the case without the staging of a fake crime scene as they would have been released to the public at some point anyway).

Mike Dippolito couldn't have been more spot on with what he said at the first sentencing near the end of this book**: When it came to him and his life, he knew he wasn't innocent in the scam he ran where he stole money from unsuspecting clients so he plead guilty and accepted the punishment for his actions. As embarrassing and life-altering as this case was for him and for many others, it was so clear by the end that the only thing she needed to do was say that yes, she did it and that she felt remorse and regret and that she was so thankful for having a friend who cared enough about her to stop her from following through on something that she would most definitely regret some day. Had she taken responsibility and shown maturity, growth, actual remorse and complete honesty, she wouldn't be sitting in jail for the better part of two decades.

(**Since this book was published, there have been several more requests and tries for trials, mistrials, etc., but finally this year, in 2017, Dalia was found Guilty and was sentenced to 16 years in prison by a new judge who took into consideration her rather restrictive house arrest for the past 8 years and basically gave her 4 years of "time served" off his agreement to a maximum sentence of 20 years for her crime. The prosecutors wanted her to receive 30 years but since she was found guilty in the first trial and was sentenced to 20 years at that time with no complaint from the prosecution, he disagreed with going beyond the initial parameters of the minimum/maximum sentence recommended for her crime.)

The last I heard was that she was going straight to jail to begin serving her time but that her lawyers would most likely continue to try to fight the verdict and try to get it thrown out. Honestly, I'd tell them that they just need to stop dragging this out and make her sit in there and take her punishment like an adult who committed a crime and needs to pay for it and hopefully try to work on how to make herself a better person not only for herself but also for the son she had while on house arrest. Sadly though, once a sociopath, always a sociopath... But who knows. Maybe someday she takes responsibility for what she tried to do to this poor man (and to all the others) who just wanted to give her the world.. and maybe she manages to show the world instead that just about anyone can be redeemed if they genuinely try to change and repent for their previous sins & infractions.

[Ali D · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love when prosecutors write books, I'm nosy and just want all the details.

[Belinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Poison Candy" provides an in-depth look at the Dippolito murder-for-hire case where Dalia conspired to have her husband Mike murdered. The story is something out of a Hollywood movie: boiler room scams, felons, prostitution, drugs, a less than year-long marriage, and an extravagant lifestyle that contributed to both Dalia and Mike's downfalls. Dalia, painted to be a woman to whom no man could say no, had affairs, one of her "friends with benefits", Mohammed, being the one to turn her into the police in an attempt at escaping prosecution. Dalia caught him in her web of lies and Mohammed knew if he didn't do something, he would be implicated when Mike turned up dead.

Police hatched a plan to videotape the murder-for-hire meetings and went so far as to stage a murder scene to test Dalia's reaction, enlisting the help of the reality television series COPS (who happened to have been riding along) to make it look all the more authentic. Under the guise of being a news crew, COPS films Dalia's reaction to the news that her husband has been murdered (something she knows because she financed the hit). When she later finds out Mike (who she had been stealing money and property from, had turned into the police to have his probation violated on several occasions, and has planted drugs on in an attempt at sending him back to jail) is alive, she looks to downplay what she had attempted to do, saying it was an elaborate plot to get a reality television show.

The book starts fast, with several chapters offering an inside look at Mike and Dalia's lurid meeting, their whirlwind romance, and the long list of terrible ways Dalia was trying to ruin her new husband. This is the meat of the book. The story is complicated and there are a lot of players, double-dealings, and deceptions. The author does a good job helping keep these things straight, if not too good a job. The repetition did slow down the pace. About a third of the way in, we get into the rambling transcripts that become an annoyance. These aren't well-spoken people, there's a lot of round about conversation, more double-talk, and the sense that we're going to be beat over the head with the same handful of "facts." My least favorite part of the book is that soggy middle, but the unfiltered look at what was say, where, how, and by whom does lend context and character. The closing arguments wrap everything up, connecting all of the dots, and leading to what seems an inevitable (and inevitably overturned) sentencing. There's no feeling of justice, only the sense that if one sticks to their story well enough, clings to the absolute fabricated truth, that commitment will bear fruit. I feel terrible for Mike, but you know, every story has two sides. This book is in no way written from Dalia's. A good true crime read. Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC through Goodreads.
---
I would give it 3.75 stars.

The authors of the book did a very thorough job at explaining all the legalities and walking through everything that led up to and following the infamous plot. It certainly gave a detailed insight into how the legal system works, unlike what we are led to believe through TV shows (which I agree are widely exaggerated to a certain extent).

The case is certainly an interesting one. Prior to this, I must admit, I have not heard of this case. But wow, I can certainly see why it is a widely followed case thanks to the media. Evidence, transcripts and every other detail in relation to the case was provided to us as readers. This helped in understanding the whole situation and attempted murder a little better. Given everything that has happened with this case, it is still unbelievable that this is reality and not some movie or work of fiction.

I did some follow up on this case as I found that the ending to the book was a little abrupt and open ended, which is fine given how recent this case still is, as are Dalia's appeals.

[BP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poison Candy: The Murderous Madam: Inside Dalia Dippolito’s Plot to Kill

I got this book through first-read. Elizabeth Parker and Mark Ebner gave a compelling page turner. The prosecutor did a very good job in the court and now the book shows all the twists and turns that happened outside the court. It's hard to believe and yet it's a true story.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

although it is a true crime based in Boynton Beach, FL, I was not impressed with it at all. I remember this case from the news, newspapers, etc. but felt it was very dry, drawn out, and not very well written. i am a fanttic of true crime books but is just didn't and couldn't keep my interest.

[Kristie Rolston · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was all for the idea of love at first sight, whirl-wind romances and living happily ever after when I was a little girl watching Disney. Growing up and living in the real world, i realized events like that usually lead to disaster. That’s the situation for Mike Dippolito. He orders a call girl, has what he considers amazing sex, and feels like he’s made a once in a lifetime connection. 48 hours later he is telling his wife he wants a divorce. 4 months later, he’s bought a new house and married Dalia, the sex worker he connected with that weekend. 6 months after that he’s basically broke, harassed and is being told by police that his wife hired someone to have him killed. So much for happily ever after.

The courtroom drama just adds to the ridiculous. A jury gets to hear from Mike Dippolito about how clueless and naive he was in regard to his wife. Then the defense throws the most out there justification since Shaggy sang It Wasn’t Me and claimed Mike set all of this up in an attempt to be a reality star. If that’s true, I’m going to say John Bobbitt wanted his manhood cutoff so he could do porn.

Unlike a lot of courtroom biographies that way you down with forensic science and boring minute “facts” from expert witnesses, this book reads like an episode of Law and Order. Parker presents the case in sequential order, rather than starting with the arrest of Dalia Dippolito. It makes the story more about the criminal and the victim than about a prosecutor seeking notoriety

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started out pretty slow. There was an ABC special the same time I was reading this book. That made me a little more interested. It was a very confusing book. So much going on and no real end. Dalia married Mike and within 6 months she tried to hire someone to kill him. She poisoned him, tried to have him arrested for drugs, had him sign over half his house to her, took his savings and cheated on him with 2 other guys. Crazy story.

[mitchell p. kanefsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Read

Juries are a funny thing. In the legal world, they can be a crapshoot! But for Dalia - who either suggested the idea to her Counsel or approved of the strategy - to think anyone would reasonably believe the reality TV defense given the utter lack of ANY evidence, tells me she is beyond the narcissistic personality described late in the book! Well done, Counselor! You can't make this stuff up!

[ahava · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

What an amazing book, if I didn’t have a life, I would’ve read it within a day. Thank you for writing and sharing your side of the story with us. Poison Candy included so many close details that I don’t really remember in the shows I’ve seen about this case or read elsewhere and well worth the read coming from someone who actually worked the case.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is scary because anyone could become involved with someone with murderous issues. Through a series of unbelievable poor choices and personal mistakes a man quickly marries Dalia. The book is about their unbelievable life.

[Ronnie Cramer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many others, I saw the video of this woman acting upset that her husband had been "murdered" and thought, "There is something not quite right here." This isn't a great book, but it was nice to get more background. Since this account was written by the prosecutor, it focuses on the trial.

[Megan Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is fascinating, but the writing is amateurish at best.

[Livvy Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gave so many detsils that was missed on the television show. Wonderful read.

[James Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

*** 1/2

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

For true crime fans. Wild ride.

[Aura Erickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book's focus is on the plot that Dalia Dippolito to hire someone to murder her husband. Most of the book discusses the trial proceedings rather than the making of this cold-blooded person.

[Mondus · Rating 4 out of 5]

she is DUMBdumb

[Kerri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book COULD have been really good but it was written in a way that was so boring. I heard about this case from the Court Junkie podcast and wanted to learn more but beyond some random tidbits, the time invested in a 40ish minute podcast was much more worthwhile.

[Velia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a difficult time trying to piece together my thoughts on this book and even coming up with a rating for it. This book seems to be meant as prosecutor procedurals and not for the true crime base. I hope a more seasoned true crime author comes up with something better.

I have seen this case profiled on Snapped and Sins & Secrets and of course I saw the video footage of Dalia that went viral on the web. I was left with confusion and a lot of questions regarding the people in the case and what actually happened. I didn't watch the COPS episode on this case.

Now that I've read the book, I actually feel for Dalia and wonder if she truly was a victim of Mike leaving her to take the fall for his scheme. I wasn't fond of the author's opinion's of Dalia listed all throughout the book and her portrayal of Mike. It was said that Mike thought he had a "perfect marriage" (p. xix) and didn't know Dalia was plotting stuff...puhleeze. In the same book it was said that Mike accused Dalia of lying about the wire transfers (p. 15), he was suspicious of her regarding the check switch (p. 18) and accused her of planting the drugs (p. 16). It was also noted that he was told by multiple people that "she was bad news" (p. 18 & 20).

From early on in the book I thought the author was crushing on Mike because of how she described him. One word comes to mind 'gushing'. "...with a soft creamy center..." (p. xiv). I couldn't help laughing at that description of Mike Dippolito. For a second I thought I was reading erotica. In all fairness I realize Mark Ebner could've been the one that wrote those descriptions and not Elizabeth Parker.

The timelime was hard to follow. And the paragraphs even seemed disjointed. Transcripts are used throughout and they make for difficult reading. All the different Mikes in the case made it more confusing. This is one case where use of the last names would have been appropriate at all times.

On the positive: From reading this book I was able to get clarification on Mike's probation and his crimes. I was curious about Dalia's escort and madame business because it was only briefly mentioned on one of those TV shows I had watched and I was able to get more information in this book about that.

[Brittnee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start with a story:

One Saturday afternoon after a delicious sushi dinner, my husband and I came home to drink beer and watch COPS. During our marathon an episode was aired that was unlike any I had ever seen before, it was an entire episode dedicated to one case. During the course of thirty minutes we watched Dalia Dippolito's plan to have her husband murdered go completely to shit and we loved every minute of it.

Fast forward about a month, my husband and I make an emergency bathroom pit stop at the St. Augustine Barnes and Noble and guess whose face I see on a book right outside of the restroom...That's right, Dalia Dippolito's!

The COPS episode was very dramatic, but that thirty minute episode didn't even scratch the surface of this real-life soap opera! If you are interested in reading this book I would suggest watching the episode first, because it really adds to the story and gives the reader a great reference point for the ridiculous chain of events that is this case.

[Velvet · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a true crime enthusiast, I remember being completely fascinated by the news coverage of this story as it sounded too insane to be true. However, Mark Ebner and Elizabeth Parker's in-depth account of Dalia Dippolito's amazingly habitual ability to manipulate and lie, seemingly convincing only herself of her "innocence", and even plotting the murder of her own husband has FINALLY provided me with some very important details that either weren't reported in the news or that were simply unknown until now. Kudos to the authors for not allowing this story to be forgotten and for their extremely informative insight into the mess that is Florida's "justice" system.

[Angela Twomey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished reading it today! Awesome book! Working in the field I thought it was great the way the legal system was explained here in Florida. So well written and fabulous the way we were allowed a peak inside the Prosecutor's mind.

[Patricia Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book

this was an excellent book. the trial of a woman who wanted her husband dead. she is one sick person, and reading of her family, so are they, oh she's sick, I couldn't put this book down! give it a try, I don't think you'd be disappointed

[Wendie Dox · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great read. excellent look at crime and the path of justice.

[Princess Pottymouth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Procedural. Engrossing. The narrator was a bit irritating, but the legalese and description were great.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the book was excellent. Too bad we can't seem to convict her.