Man gets six months for threatening neighbors
A former Olde Towne East man has been sentenced to six months in prison after he threatened and shouted anti-semitic slurs at his neighbors.
Douglas G. Schifer, 66, now of Bucyrus, Crawford County, also will pay a $50,000 fine as part of his sentence announced Tuesday by U.S. District Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Preston Deavers.
Schifer pleaded guilty in June to a single misdemeanor count of criminal interference with rights to fair housing following an incident with his Jewish neighbors in November 2020.
According to federal court documents, the neighbors told investigators that Schifer yelled: “… Hitler should have gassed you,” “I’m going to shoot your and your dogs,” and “That’s why he put you people in furnaces,” among other things.
He also broke a window at the neighbors’ home, “because of the victims’ religion and because the victims were enjoying the right to occupy a dwelling,” according to documents.
After he was contacted by investigators about the incidents, Schifer lodged a building and zoning complaint with the city of Columbus against his neighbors, alleging they had turned a garage into a living quarters without proper permits, according to documents.
Prosecutors sought a sentence of 12 months in prison, the maximum penalty for the misdemeanor count, noting in pre-sentence court filings:
“This was not a momentary blowup: Mr. Schifer’s hateful statements and acts occurred repeatedly and over the course of several hours. Every time he encountered his neighbors that day, Mr. Schifer threatened them and hurled derogatory and inflammatory language at them. He used anti-jewish slurs on no fewer than nine occasions.” mkovac@dispatch.com @Ohiocapitalblog