Colorado Man Going To Prison For Threatening His Former Professor

CONTACT:  Barbara Burns

PHONE:  (716) 843-5817

FAX #:  (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Daniel Richter, 42, of Boulder, CO, who was convicted of interstate communication of threat to injure, was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison by U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan A. Tokash, who handled the case, stated that in 2002, the defendant was a student in a class that the Victim taught at the University of Buffalo. Around that time, Richter sent bizarre emails to the Victim and followed her to her car after class. When the course was finished, the Victim moved out of the Western District of New York.

In 2007, the defendant started sending post-cards with strange messages to the Victim and leaving harassing voice-mail messages on her work phone. On April 23, 2008, the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office arrested Richter, and the Niagara County District Attorney charged him with Stalking in the Fourth Degree. On June 17, 2009, the defendant pleaded guilty to the charged offense, and was given a fine and an Order of Protection was issued against Richter.

On October 18, 2018, the Victim reported to the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office that she received an envelope addressed to her at her place of employment in the Western District of New York. Around this time, the defendant was living in Colorado, and sent the envelope, which contained a handwritten letter, an article, and three movie DVDs. The Victim received a second package the same day from Richter, which contained a letter, a CD, and five movie DVDs. Between November 1 and November 7, 2018, the defendant repeatedly called the Victim and left harassing voicemail messages on her phone. Richter continued to call and leave similar harassing messages for the Victim in the following days, causing her considerable distress. In particular, she reported that the defendant left a message saying he had, “been arrested 10 years ago and he’s willing to risk it happening again.” As a result, a local court issued a warrant for Richter’s arrest for Stalking in the Third Degree.

On November 26, 2018, the Victim reported that she received an additional 156 voice mail messages and more than 150 e-mails from the defendant. Some of the voice mail messages were threatening and sexual in nature, as Richter specifically stated he was on his way to Western New York and would arrive around Christmas time. One of the defendant’s messages stated, “I can’t stress this enough, when I do show up around Christmas, if you want to live, never leave my (expletive) side.” Some of Richter’s emails indicated that he was traveling from Colorado to New York, including one message in which the defendant said, “I blame you of course, (expletive). I’m stuck in Iowa because of your damn (expletive)…”

On November 29, 2018, the Morris Police Department in Morris, Illinois, encountered the defendant in a vehicle in a Comfort Inn parking lot when responding to a report of a male who was reportedly acting strangely. The responding officer identified the man as Richter, and placed him under arrest due to the active warrant.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Acting Sheriff Michael Filicetti, and Special Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia.

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