Prosecution unsure Harvard extortion suspect ‘acted alone’
A federal judge agreed Friday to set bail conditions for a New Hampshire man who claims he was duped into planting a fake bomb at Harvard University as part of an elaborate scheme to extort bitcoin payment from the school.
During a hearing in US District Court in Boston, a prosecutor said it was unclear whether William A. Giordani was the alleged mastermind of the extortion plot or merely a pawn, but the government didn’t oppose his release on bail — with mandated drug treatment — while the case is pending and investigators search for other suspects.
Giordani, 54, of Nashua, N.H., is charged with conspiracy and aiding and abetting extortionate threats. After his arrest last week, he told investigators that he answered a Craigslist ad from someone who claimed to be the father of a student and offered to pay him to leave a bag of fireworks at the Cambridge campus, according to court filings. He claimed that person repeatedly called Harvard University police and threatened to detonate three remotely controlled bombs on campus unless he received bitcoin payment.
On Friday, US Magistrate Judge Paul G. Levenson agreed to release Giordani on an unsecured bond with a number of conditions, including that he attend a substance abuse treatment program, stay away from Cambridge, and notify the court before traveling outside of New Hampshire. He was also ordered not to possess firearms, destructive devices, or fireworks.
Citing Giordani’s lengthy history of addiction, Levenson urged him to take advantage of resources offered through the federal court system.
“I don’t know what the bottom looks like for you,” Levenson told Giordani from the bench, warning him about the severity of the criminal case he faces. “Find some way to clean up your life and deal with your issues. If ever there were a moment to assess where your life was headed this might be a pretty good one.”
“Yes, your honor, thank you,” said Giordani, who was dressed in a tan-colored uniform issued by the jail.
Giordani was not allowed to walk free from the federal courthouse. Instead, according to his lawyer, he was turned over to local authorities because there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest for failing to appear in state court for a hearing in an unrelated larceny case.
During Friday’s federal court hearing, Assistant US Attorney John T. McNeil said Giordani allegedly placed a “hoax” device on the Harvard campus, which forced the area to be evacuated and led a police bomb squad to detonate the device.
McNeil said prosecutors “don’t believe Mr. Giordani acted alone,” and that investigators are looking for other suspects.
“Exactly what Mr. Giordani’s role was ... from being the mastermind to someone who was deceived, let’s just say that the dust hasn’t settled on that and that’s why the investigation is ongoing,” McNeil said.
Jane Peachy, a lawyer for Giordani, said after the hearing that her client was not the mastermind of the alleged plot, and that he’s committed to getting “clean and sober.”
“He responded to the Craigslist ad,” Peachy said. “It looks like he was duped.”
On April 13, Harvard University police received seven telephone calls from a man who used a mechanical device to disguise his voice while warning that three bombs had been placed on campus and students would be killed if administrators did not meet his demands, according to an affidavit by a Harvard police officer assigned to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force..
The caller demanded payment in bitcoin within 96 minutes, according to the affidavit, which did not specify how much money was requested.
The caller told police where to find one of the devices, which was detonated by police and turned out to be a tool bag with a metal safe inside containing fireworks and loose wiring, according to the affidavit filed in court. The area was evacuated. No other devices were found on campus and no one was injured, according to authorities.
According to the affidavit, surveillance footage reviewed by investigators allegedly showed Giordani had placed the tool bag containing the device on campus.
Two days earlier, someone claiming to be the father of a Harvard student posted an ad on Craigslist offering to pay $300 to deliver items to campus for the student, according to the affidavit. The telephone number included in the ad matched the number used by the caller who made the bomb threats.