Western Massachusetts Man Convicted of Threatening a Federal Official

BOSTON, MA—A Huntington man was convicted today in federal court of threatening to assault a federal official.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; James C. Burrell, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and John Gibbons, United States Marshal for the District of Massachusetts, announced today that THOMAS STEFANIK, 61, of Huntington, was convicted by a jury sitting before U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris of threatening to assault a federal official.

Evidence presented during the two-day trial showed that on the afternoon of October 9, 2009, STEFANIK called the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston to inquire about pending appeals. During the ensuing conversation, STEFANIK threatened to come to the courthouse and confront a First Circuit supervisor with a shotgun.

Judge Saris scheduled sentencing for September 17, 2010. STEFANIK faces six years’ imprisonment to be followed by five years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshal Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David G. Tobin and Robert E. Richardson of the U.S. Attorney’s Major Crimes Unit.