Tattle: Convict allegedly paid associate to kill, castrate Bieber

ONE WOULD THINK that if there ever were a plot to kill

Justin Bieber

, it would have been hatched by a jealous 12-year-old girl.

Instead, it came from convicted rapist/killer Dana Martin, 45, who allegedly enlisted two other men - one his nephew - to do the deed.

Documents in a New Mexico court case say Martin told investigators that he persuaded Mark Staake, 41, who he said he met in Las Cruces State Prison, to kill the Beebs, as well as Bieber's bodyguard and two others not connected to the pop star.

KRQE-TV says the plan was to strangle and castrate at least the first two victims, but it was unclear whether Bieber was supposed to be one of the first two killed - although it does bring new meaning to the Jingle Ball.

Martin told investigators that Staake and Martin's nephew, Turner Ruane, 23, traveled east across the U.S., planning to be near a Bieber concert in New York City.

Instead, the men missed a turn and crossed into Canada from Vermont.

Staake was arrested by Vermont police on an outstanding warrant. Ruane was arrested later in New York. The two men face multiple charges stemming from the alleged plot.

According to an affidavit for an arrest warrant, Martin wanted all four victims, including Bieber, strangled with a paisley tie, which is similar to the killer's previous modus operandi.

With regard to the castrations, Martin planned to pay Staake $2,500 per testicle.

Martin told investigators he wanted the Beebs killed because he "has a measure of fame" and Martin had "become infatuated" with him. Martin is serving two life sentences for the 2000 rape and murder of a Vermont girl.

Martin has a tattoo of Bieber on his leg and tried to contact him several times but became upset when Bieber did not respond, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit said this perceived slight and Martin's belief that he was a nobody in prison led him to start plotting to kidnap and murder Bieber.

Martin told investigators "he was seeking a measure of notoriety so that there would be people outside of prison who would know who he . . . was."

* In other Bieber news, Los Angeles prosecutors Wednesday appealed the dismissal of anti-paparazzi driving charges against a photographer accused of recklessly chasing Bieber on an L.A. freeway earlier this year.

The appeal argues that Superior Court Judge Thomas Rubinson erred last month when he dismissed two counts filed under California's 2010 anti-paparazzi law against Paul Raef, a freelance photographer. The judge dismissed the charges on grounds that the 2010 law used to charge him was overly broad and violates the First Amendment.

The judge's ruling could set "a dangerous precedent" that news gatherers can drive recklessly without facing stiffer penalties, the prosecutors' filing states.

The law raised the penalty for those who drive dangerously in pursuit of photos for commercial gain, but Rubinson said that could be applied to wedding photographers and many other professions.

The offense is punishable by six months in jail and a $2,500 fine but went unused until Raef was involved in the freeway chase of Bieber that topped 80 mph and prompted several 9-1-1 calls.

*

Jackie Chan

, dictator?

The chopsocky action star suggested in a recent interview that protests should be restricted in Hong Kong.

Chan lamented that Hong Kong has become a city of protests, where people "scold China, scold the leaders, scold anything, protest against anything.

"There should be regulations on what can and cannot be protested," Chan told the Southern People Weekly. He didn't say what kinds of protests he thought should be restricted.

* For some reason, it seems as if

Britney Spears is less of a pop-music sensation than she is a former pop-music sensation, but according to Forbes.com, the "X Factor" judge was the No. 1 female earner in music thanks to her platinum album "Femme Fatale" and the ensuing tour.

Britney pulled in $58 million last year, inching ahead of second-place Taylor Swift and her $57 million. At No. 3 was Rihanna at $53 million, followed by Lady Gaga at $52 million and Katy Perry at $45 million.

* RadarOnline.com says that

Olivia Wilde is secretly engaged to Jason Sudeikis and that the pair plan to wed in Kansas City.

* Curvy supermodel Kate

Upton told Vogue magazine that she's pleased young girls look at her as a role model.

What about men looking at her as a roll-in-the-hay model?

- Daily News wire services

contributed to this report.