This morning, when I first heard that a Food Network star had been arrested and sentenced to jail, I figured that either Rachael Ray or Guy Fieri had finally been charged with prostitution. Instead I find out that the crime is much more severe and that the passion it takes to make a great chef can also turn a rising star into a convicted murderer. 

Juan-Carlos Cruz, who rose to celebrity chef status as host of the Food Network show, Calorie Commando, has just been sentenced to nine years in prison for hatching a murder-for-hire plot against his wife, attorney Jennifer Campbell. 

Cruz was arrested earlier this year when a homeless man told police Cruz had attempted to pay him $500 to murder Campbell. The cops then set up a videotaped sting and caught the shifty chef making arrangements for his wife's demise. 

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Campbell was unharmed and sat in the front row of the courtroom during the trial. Cruz pleaded no contest and will probably only serve half of his nine-year sentence.

*TMZ reports that the first of the homeless men to turn Cruz in, died of a brain hemorrhage months ago.