Bob Bashara in bid to overturn murder conviction over wife Jane

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Bob Bashara enjoyed bondage sessions in his sex dungeon under his bar
The businessman was convicted of ordering a hit on his wife Jane in 2012
He claims his wife had given him permission to have affairs in his dungeon
Bashara is due to appear in court today in a bid to overturn his sentence

Published: 20:42 EST, 15 October 2015 | Updated: 08:21 EST, 16 October 2015

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A man convicted of ordering the murder of his wife so he could devote himself to a life of bondage and domination claimed his wife gave him permission to continue his unconventional lifestyle.

Bob Bashara from Detroit has petitioned Wayne County Circuit Court to overturn his first-degree murder conviction and life sentence claiming his constitutional rights were violated during his trial last year.

Bashara was convicted last December of ordering his wife, Jane's murder, in 2012.

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Bob Bashara, pictured, claimed his wife Jane gave him permission to have extra-martial affairs

Bob Bashara, right, claims he did not order the murder of his wife, Jane, left, who allowed his bondage affairs

Bashara was convicted of forcing Joe Gentz (right) to murder his wife in 2012 and dumping her body

However, Bashara, who was known as 'Master Bob', claimed his attorneys failed to represent him properly during the salacious trial by advising him against taking to the stand and testifying in his own defence.

He said: 'I felt that I was grossly misled by that.'

He said he had an ineffective defence.

Jane Bashara's body was found inside her Mercedes-Benz which had been dumped in a Detroit alleyway.

Prosecutors have said Bashara, 57, coerced handyman Joe Gentz into strangling her at the couple's Grosse Pointe home.

Gentz is in prison after a second-degree murder conviction.

Part of the focus of his original trial was on Bashara's extramarital affairs and the bondage and domination lifestyle.

Bashara, who was known as 'Master Bob' among those in that lifestyle, told Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Vonda Evans Thursday that his wife gave him permission to have extramarital affairs because the couple was unable to have sex due to medical conditions.

Bashara operated a sex dungeon under a bar he owned called the Hard Luck Lounge (pictured)

He said: 'It was important to show I didn't just go out and have an affair, your honor. Every night, we cuddled, we kissed. We were both getting older. The love and the caring never stopped."

Bob Bashara, left, said he kissed and cuddled his wife Jane, right, every night before her murder even though they no longer had sex

Bashara is expected to continue his testimony later today.

Bashara's trial heard that he used cocaine and hosted men and women at a sex dungeon underneath a bar called the Hard Luck Lounge.

During the original trial, prosecutor Rob Moran asked the jury: 'What man would make his own elderly mother hide a gun for him?

'What kind of man has two women come to the marital bed and have sex with them while his wife is out of town? Is that what a man does who's in love with his wife? No. It's the ultimate act of betrayal.'

The handyman, Joe Gentz, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2012 and said Bob Bashara coerced him into committing the crime.

Bashara didn't testify but repeatedly professed his innocence in the weeks after his wife's death, even attending a candlelight vigil in her honor.

Jane Bashara was a marketing executive with a long record of service to her church and community. Nearly three years later, there still are lawn signs that say, 'Justice For Jane.'

Before his wife's death, Bashara was a successful local businessman, head of the local Rotary Club, a deacon at the local church and a backer of the Lochmoor Country Club in Grosse Pointe Woods.