Oct. 9 2002 - WorldCatch Wave - A New Bedford fish broker accused of running a ruthless local mob offered to pay more than $75,000 for a hit on a Somerset police detective who helped bring his crimes before a federal grand jury, prosecutors claimed yesterday.

``I should put a bullet in that guy's head,'' the government says Timothy J. Mello told his weight lifting buddy, a suspended Fall River cop who conveyed the conversation to a fellow officer.

The accusation in court papers drew a fast and furious denial from Timothy J.