ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - A central Florida man who avoided a prison sentence after trying to hire someone to kill a former business associate will now go to prison for violating his probation.

An Orange County judge sentenced 73-year-old David L. Mackey Friday to 8 1/2 years in prison. Mackey's attorney said the term amounts to a death sentence.

In 2003, the Winter Park surgeon was caught on tape asking an undercover officer to have a former business associate killed. He pleaded no contest in 2005 to solicitation to commit first-degree murder. He was sentenced to one year of house-arrest, followed by probation.

In 2008, Mackey was caught on tape knocking nozzles off a citrus canker-wash station in Indian River County. He was found guilty of misdemeanor theft, a violation of his earlier probation.