Florida Man Sentenced For Threatening A VA Employee

CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Michael F. Hanley, 49, of Clearwater, Florida, who was convicted of threatening a federal employee, was sentenced to serve three years probation, to include six months home detention, by U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas A. Penrose, who handled the case, stated that the defendant was formerly employed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as a Veterans Claims Examiner. During his tenure at the VA, Hanley became acquainted with another VA employee (Victim), and the two had a history of contentious interactions. The defendant left a series of similar voicemails on the Victim’s phone between October 2018 and November 2019, in which he threatened to kill the Victim and the Victim’s family.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the VA Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigations Division, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Christopher Algieri.

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