Man Charged with Tsongas Arena Bomb Threat Hoax and Lying to the FBI
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 17, 2009 |
Boston, MA—A Waltham man has been indicted on charges that he conveyed a false threat that a man in Lowell, Massachusetts was going to bomb the Tsongas Arena.
Acting United States Attorney Michael Loucks, Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Division and Chief Kenneth E. Lavallee of the Lowell Police Department announced that JOHN CARROLL, JR., age 24, was indicted on charges of Maliciously Conveying False Information, Making a Hoax Threat and Providing False Information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
On March 6, 2007, CARROLL transmitted a false message over the Internet to a website called 911.com. The message stated that a person in Lowell, Massachusetts told CARROLL that he was going to bomb the Tsongas Arena. Based on the message, authorities responded to the Tsongas Arena, and the Joint Terrorism Task Force began investigating the person identified as the would-be bomber. The message which CARROLL sent was false and maliciously targeted an acquaintance of CARROLL’s. After CARROLL transmitted the false message, he was interviewed by agents from the FBI and asked if he knew anything about the hoax threat. CARROLL denied knowing anything about the incident, and instead, identified other individuals as the likely hoaxers, including one who had accused him of committing a prior crime.
If convicted, CARROLL could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine each for the maliciously conveying false information and the hoax charges, and up to five years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine for providing false information to the FBI.
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lowell Police Department. It is being prosecuted by U.S. Attorney’s in Loucks’ Anti-Terrorism and National Security Unit.
The details contained in the Indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
