Chicopee school chief accused of threats via text
The superintendent for Chicopee schools has been arrested on a charge that she lied to federal authorities over sending nearly 100 threatening text messages to a candidate for the office of local chief of police.
The FBI arrested Lynn M. Clark, the school superintendent, 51, of Belchertown, and charged her with one count of making false statements. Clark is expected to make an initial appearance in federal court in Springfield. The charge carries a sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
“The Mayor’s Office is aware of the situation and we are working to ensure that School Department operations continue smoothly through this transition as the education of children remains paramount,” Chicopee Mayor John L. Vieau said in a statement through a spokeswoman.
“Today’s arrest is disheartening for the City of Chicopee. The School Committee will meet tonight in executive session to decide on a proper course of action,” the statement continued.
According to the criminal complaint filed, Mayor Vieau himself alerted the FBI that he believed the unnamed candidate was the target of threats. The candidate withdrew from the race following the threats, which Vieau told the feds he worried “unfairly affected the integrity of the selection process.”
The feds say that threatening messages were also sent to the candidate’s spouse, and that many of the messages contained privileged personal information the candidate had only shared with Clark. One of the messages contained a photo of the candidate and spouse on their wedding day, which the candidate told the feds was not posted digitally anywhere and could only be found in the candidate’s office.
Clark allegedly purchased fake phone numbers from a “burner app” using a connection that accessed her home IP address, a charging document states.
She then requested to meet the FBI and voluntarily came in, the doc states, in February, where she allegedly told agents she had no idea who sent the messages and that she did not download the burner app, accused another member of her family by name as the possible culprit and told agents it was best for everyone involved if they closed the investigation with “no finding.”
Agents then confronted her with their evidence she was lying and then she allegedly admitted to the whole thing, adding that she felt that if the candidate were elected to chief of police it would negatively impact her job and that she wanted the candidate to get “knocked down a peg.”
Clark, formerly the assistant superintendent for instruction and accountability, was elected to the top superintendent role in a special meeting on Aug. 21, 2019, according to a news article from the local outlet The Reminder.