Phone threats put theft victim in jail

LANTANA — A Lake Wortharea man is facing 28 counts of engaging in harassing communication after he made repeated threatening phone calls to Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg and other members of his staff, according to an arrest report.

The report said that John J. Apostola, 58, left irate, obscene, vulgar and profanity-laced phone messages for Aronberg, Chief Assistant State Attorney Brian Fernandes and three assistant state attorneys.

Apost o l a was a v i c t i m in two theft cases and was unhappy about how the State Attorney’s Office handled thosec ases, the report said.

Apostola allegedly made 12 harassing phone c alls between June 15 and July 5. He was then contacted by Fernandes and other offi- cials with the state attorney’s office and told the calls would no longer be tolerated and that he was close to facing stalking and harassment charges, the report said.

Aposto l a pro mi s e d he would discontinue the calls after Fernandes told him that he would look into the theft cases, the report said.

But Apostola alle gedly began making more harassi n g p h o n e c a l l s Au g . 2 6 because he was upset Fern a n d e s h a d n o t “r e p r i - manded” the prosecutors working on the theft cases.

One of the assistant state attorneys targeted by Apostola became so concerned wi t h her s a f e t y t hat she obtained a concealed weapons permit, the report said.

On Jan. 30, investigators with the st ate attorney ’s office went to Apostola’s home on High Ridge Road.

Before they could say why they were there, Apostola pointed to a graphic on the rear window of his pickup that read, “PBC PROSECUT O R’ S O F F I C E S U C K S , ” bracketed by thumbs-down images, the report said.

The names of Fernandes and the three assistant state a t t o r n e y s Ap o s t o l a wa s alle gedly harassing were also spelled out.

The message on the truck, the report said, goes on to read: “In my two cases as a victim, I witnessed racial comments. I was faced with Spiteful attorney & strong arm tactics. Verbal threatsLies-Disrespect-RudenessBack Stabbing & More.”

In larger print were the words: “HEY ARONBERG, YOUR EMPLOYEES ARE NOT DOING A GOOD JOB!”

Apostol a was a r re s te d Tuesday by the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office. He was released Wednesday, his 58th birthday, after posting an $18,500 bond.