Michigan Man Pleads Guilty to Bomb Threat

ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Patrick G. Bassett, 59, of Marquette, Michigan, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer to making a bomb threat. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett A. Harvey, who is handling the case, stated that an investigation by the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) revealed that on February 6, 2011, Bassett called Fairport High School in Fairport, New York from Michigan. The defendant left a voice-mail message stating that there was a bomb in the girls locker room. At the time, Bassett believed that the daughter of his ex-girlfriend was attending Fairport High School and he made the threat because of past issues with his ex-girlfriend. As a result of the threat, students were kept on buses and in classrooms while the building was searched. No bomb was found.

Bassett also admitted that, since approximately 2001, he made numerous telephone calls and sent letters to his ex-girlfriend and her family which they found to be threatening and harassing.

The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher M. Piehota.

Sentencing is scheduled for February 14, 2012, at 11:30 a.m. EST, in Rochester, N.Y., before Judge Larimer.