WAILUKU, Maui — Three suspects have been charged in a murder-for-hire plot in which a Lahaina man allegedly paid $3,550 to have his estranged wife's boyfriend killed.

Ronald J. Bonilla, 60, of Pa'ia, and Lawrence Verzosa, 42, of Wailuku, allegedly posed as police officers to confront Leonardo Rojas-Reyes as he was getting off work about 4:10 p.m. Thursday at the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua. The two men handcuffed Rojas-Reyes, 20, and drove him to Central Maui, said Lt. Chad Viela of the Maui Police Department.

At one point, Rojas-Reyes struggled to get free and Bonilla allegedly punched him several times, Viela said. When the victim realized his life was in danger, he offered his kidnappers $100,000 to let him go, Viela said. The men dropped Rojas-Reyes at a scenic lookout near Ma'alaea and allegedly threatened to kill his family if he didn't bring the money to the hotel parking lot the next night.

The victim hitchhiked back to Lahaina and sought treatment at Maui Memorial Medical Center, where the abduction was reported to police.

Detectives were watching when Bonilla turned up at the Ritz-Carlton at 6 p.m. Friday. A short time later he drove off empty-handed, and detectives pulled him over. A search of his car turned up a loaded .357 Magnum snub-nosed revolver and two law enforcement badges, police said. Viela said authorities are trying to determine the origin of the badges.

Police at first thought they were dealing with just a kidnapping case, Viela said, but with Bonilla in custody, they soon learned of the alleged murder scheme supposedly initiated by Aniano B. Yabo, 40, whose estranged wife, Ethel, 33, is involved with Rojas-Reyes. The Yaboses and Rojas-Reyes all work in the housekeeping department at the Ritz-Carlton, Viela said.

Bonilla is a security guard at Queen Ka'ahumanu Center in Kahului. He has a 1993 perjury conviction in Texas that resulted in a sentence of five years' probation.

Yabo was arrested Saturday, and Verzosa, who is unemployed, on Monday night.

Supervising Deputy Prosecutor John Tam said it is not clear whether Yabo and Bonilla knew each other before the alleged plot.

Yabo, Verzosa and Bonilla are each charged with attempted murder in the first degree, which carries a sentence of life imprisonment without parole. Bonilla and Verzosa also are charged with kidnapping, first-degree attempted extortion and second-degree robbery, while Bonilla additionally is facing gun charges.

The Yabos have been married 18 years and have been involved in divorce proceedings over the past eight months, according to Tam. The two have three children and no longer live together, he said.

Aniano Yabo, who also uses the name Aniabo Yabo, was convicted of second-degree sexual assault in 1993 and received a sentence of a year in jail and five years' probation.

All three suspects were being held at the Maui Community Correctional Center and are scheduled for a preliminary hearing Friday in Wailuku District Court. Yabo's bail is set at $292,000, Bonilla's at $310,000 and Verzosa's at $296,000.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.