Bomb suspect has long arrest record
Fla. man, ex-stripper, was put on probation for making a threat
WASHINGTON — Cesar Sayoc is an amateur body builder and former male stripper, a loner with a long arrest record who showed little interest in politics until Donald Trump came along.
On Friday, he was identified by authorities as the Florida man who put pipe bombs in small manila envelopes, affixed six stamps and sent them to some of Trump’s most prominent critics.
Records show Sayoc, 56, of Aventura, Fla., has a history of financial problems and an extensive record of past arrests, including a stint served on probation for making a bomb threat. He was born in New York City and attended college in North Carolina before moving to the Miami suburbs in the late 1980s.
Florida voter records show he first registered in March 2016 as a Republican and cast a ballot in that November’s heated presidential election. Sayoc’s social media accounts are peppered with memes supporting Trump, denigrating Democrats and promoting conspiracy theories about George Soros, the billionaire political donor who was the first targeted this week by a package bomb.
Sayoc has also tweeted and posted on Facebook videos that appear to show him at Trump rallies.
“I know the guy is a lunatic,” Lenny Altieri, Sayoc’s cousin, told the Associated Press on Friday. “He has been a loner.” He confirmed that Sayoc had been a stripper.
Court records in Florida show that Sayoc was arrested in 2002 and served a year of probation for a felony charge of threatening to throw or place a bomb. Court records available online did not immediately provide further details about the case, but his lawyer in the case said it involved a heated conversation with a Florida utility representative.
Ronald Lowy, a Miami attorney, said Sayoc became frustrated about a lack of service and told a Florida Power and Light employee “something to the effect that you’re not taking care of my problem and I bet you would if I threw a bomb at you.” Lowy said Sayoc showed no ability at the time to back up his threat with any bomb-making expertise.
Florida records show Sayoc was also convicted in 2014 for grand theft and misdemeanor theft of less than $300, and in 2013 for battery. In 2004, he faced several felony charges for unlawful possession of a synthetic anabolic steroid often used to help build muscles. He also had several arrests for theft in the 1990s and faced a felony charge for obtaining fraudulent refunds and a misdemeanor count of tampering with physical evidence.
“His mind doesn’t seem to operate like most peoples’,” Lowy said. “It shows in his anger, his emotion and his behavior.”
After his parents separated, Sayoc was “kind of rejected” by his family, Altieri said.
“When you get no love as a young kid, you get kind of out of whack,” he said.
Sayoc’s name is listed on business records tied to dry cleaning and catering businesses. Records also suggest he also had recent financial problems, including losing his home in foreclosure in 2009 and filling for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in 2012.
In court records, Sayoc was described as having $4,175 in personal property and more than $21,000 in debts. His monthly income at the time was $1,070.
“Debtor lives with mother, owns no furniture,” Sayoc’s lawyer indicated in a property list.
Court files show Sayoc completed a financial management course and was discharged from his debts in September 2012.
A Twitter account that appears to belong to Sayoc, @hardrock2016, includes memes denouncing Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, including a photo of Soros made to look like he’s holding a puppet that resembles Gillum.
Other posts called Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg “fake phony.” He posted memes repeatedly attacking Hogg in July. He also called Gov. Rick Scott “greatest Governor Ever” in a posting that shows the Republican governor alongside Trump.
In June, he praised Trump in a birthday message saying: “Happy Birthday President Donald J. Trump the greatest result President ever.”