UPDATED 7:50 a.m. Friday, June 17, 2011

URBANA — The attorneys prosecuting and defending a former Tolono business man for the murder of his brother said the two had a long-standing animus born of financial problems.

The bad blood between Brian and Mark Maggio culminated in the apparently unprovoked shooting death almost a year ago of Mark Maggio inside a grocery store in Tolono that the brothers once owned together.

On Thursday, Brian Maggio, 43, who last lived in Savoy, pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of Mark Maggio, 32, of Tolono. It occurred about noon on July 21, 2010, as Mark Maggio tried to get away from his brother inside the now-closed Tolono IGA on Main Street.

Under the terms of a plea agreement worked out between Assistant Champaign County State's Attorney Adam Dill and Maggio's attorney, Dan Jackson of Champaign, Dill agreed to seek no more than 35 years in prison for Maggio. He also agreed to dismiss four other counts of first-degree murder.

Judge Heidi Ladd set sentencing for July 27. Dill said he would present no aggravating evidence, but the judge could expect to have statements from Mark Maggio's widow and other family members to consider.

Because Brian Maggio admitted that he fired the gun that killed his brother, his penalty could have ranged from 45 years to life in prison. He will have to serve 100 percent of any sentence he receives.

Mark Maggio's widow, Tara Maggio, was present to hear her brother-in-law's admission Thursday. There were four other women in court supporting her.

Dill laid out the facts of the case for Ladd, calling the brothers business partners whose relationship over the last few years had "deteriorated seriously."

At the time of his death, Mark Maggio managed the Arcola IGA while Brian Maggio managed the IGA in Tolono that had been in his family's hands for three generations.

On July 21, Mark Maggio went to the Tolono store to speak with the store manager. His older brother was not there at the time but returned while Mark Maggio was still present.

Dill said witnesses, which included a handful of patrons and store employees, would testify that Brian Maggio hit his brother in the chest, pushing him, while making a derogatory comment. The push made both men lose their balance.

Mark Maggio got up and ran to the exit. Brian Maggio chased him, removing a .357 caliber Derringer gun from his pocket as he pursued his brother.

Dill said the elder Maggio was known to carry the gun for protection because he often opened and closed stores and made bank deposits by himself.

Dill said as Mark Maggio ran toward the exit, he turned and looked back toward Brian Maggio who was 4 to 5 feet away. As Mark Maggio turned, Brian Maggio fired one shot that entered Mr. Maggio's chest from the right, passed through his lungs, and lodged near his heart. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

After the shooting, Dill said, Brian Maggio was seen by witnesses to kick his brother about the head and body.

Jackson said the brothers were apparently fine while growing up but grew apart over what he called questionable business decisions exacerbated by the bad economy.

"There was a lot of stuff going on in his life that wasn't good," Jackson said of his client.

Brian Maggio has been in the county jail since his arrest the day of the murder. The Tolono IGA closed not long afterward.