Canandaigua Man Indicted for Threatening to Kill VA Employees in Albany

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Robert J. Seifert, age 58, of Canandaigua, New York, was indicted today on charges that he threatened to commit a mass shooting at the Stratton VA Medical Center in Albany. 

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey G. Hughes of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office. 

According to the indictment, Seifert made phone calls on June 15, 2016 in which he threatened to kill a VA Police Officer, “kill everybody at the Albany VA,” and go to the Stratton VA Medical Center “with my Uzi and … start shooting people up.”  The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. 

Seifert has been in custody since July 14, when he was arrested in Buffalo on a criminal complaint. U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr., of the Western District of New York, ordered Seifert detained pending his initial appearance in Albany.  Seifert will appear in Albany at a later date. 

If convicted on all charges, Seifert faces up to 10 years in prison and up to 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. 

This case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.