Prisoner Sentenced to 15 Months for Mailing Threatening Letters to New Hampshire Residents from Prison

            CONCORD - Matthew Oliver, 38, formerly of Everett, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for mailing threatening communications, announced United States Attorney Scott W. Murray.

               According to court documents and statements made during a jury trial, Oliver mailed the threatening communications while incarcerated at the Onondaga County Justice Center in Syracuse, New York in 2017.  In January of 2017, Oliver mailed a letter to a home in New Hampshire that contained a threat to injure the woman who lived in the home.  While still incarcerated at the facility in April of 2017, the defendant mailed another letter to the home that contained a threat to assault the woman’s daughter.

               Oliver was found guilty by jury on November 19, 2019.

              “Violent threats damage the personal peace and security of victims and are not protected by the First Amendment,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “Those who send violent threats through the mail are not exercising free speech rights, they are committing crimes that undermine the rights of their victims. We will not tolerate such threats.  Rather, we will work closely with our law enforcement partners to identify, prosecute, and incarcerate the criminals who send them.”

               “With today’s sentence, Matthew Oliver is finally being held accountable for terrorizing two women with violent threats, causing them to fear for their physical safety,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “Let this case be a warning to others who are seeking to exact revenge while behind bars; the FBI and our law enforcement partners will not hesitate to take swift action against anyone who tries to continue their criminal conduct by sending threatening hate mail."

                The Seabrook New Hampshire Police Department, the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.  Assistant United States Attorney Anna Krasinski and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert M. Kinsella prosecuted the case.

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