BUFFALO—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul,
Jr. announced today that Cory T. Kent, 30, of Buffalo, New York, pleaded guilty
before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to perpetrating a hoax by mailing
a threatening envelope. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in
prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert C.
Moscati, who is handling the case, stated that on November 1, 2011, Kent placed
two envelopes in a mailbox at Daemen College addressed to two large U.S. banks.
When a postal carrier was emptying the contents of the mailbox, a puff of
powder emanated from the envelopes. Further investigation revealed the
defendant put baby powder in the two envelopes as a prank intended to “freak
out” whoever opened the envelopes. Kent stated he was mailing the envelopes
after watching a YouTube video from the Occupy Wall Street group that advocated
mailing pre-paid envelopes received from banks back to the banks stuffed with
additional items in order to increase their costs.
The plea is the culmination of an
investigation on the part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Joint
Terrorism Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge
Christopher M. Piehota; the United States Postal Service Inspection Service,
under the direction of Inspector in Charge Robert Bethel; the Amherst Police
Department, under the direction of Chief of Police John C. Askey; and the Town
of Amherst Emergency Services, under the direction of James Zymanek.
Sentencing is scheduled for October 14,
2012 at 1:00 p.m. before Judge Arcara.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment