Judge Paris Kallas gave Pitre 40 years in prison for the beating death of his ex-wife, Cheryl, 33, whose body was found in the trunk of a car parked near Lake Union more than 15 years ago.
Pitre, 51, and a suspected accomplice were charged with first-degree murder earlier this year, after Seattle police "cold case" detectives uncovered the alleged murder-for-hire plot with further investigation and new DNA evidence.
Pitre entered a modified guilty plea to first-degree murder last month. He was already serving prison time for a 1993 plot to kidnap a teenage boy -- the son of a different ex-wife -- in a clumsy attempt to get ransom money.