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Jason Pantone, 34, of Hyde Park, was arrested Wednesday, Feb. 27, and appeared in court in Albany on Thursday on charges of conveying false information and hoax, said the U.S. Attorney Grant Jaquith.
Pantone is accused of using the U.S. mail to send envelopes containing white power to locations in New York and Connecticut. Each envelope contained suspicious white powder and a note indicating, or implying, that the powder was dangerous or intended to cause harm.
A criminal complaint alleges that beginning in February, Pantone mailed envelopes addressed to the Social Security Administration Offices in the towns and cities of Plattsburgh, Binghamton, Utica, West Nyack, White Plains, as well as offices in Hartford and Torrington, Connecticut.
The complaint also said that additional letters were addressed to U.S. District Court offices in Syracuse, Binghamton, Albany, Plattsburgh, and Utica. All the envelopes contained a typed note, which said “ANTHRAX.”
All samples of the white powder tested thus far have not contained hazardous material, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Pantone faces up to faces a sentence of up to five years in prison, and a year of supervised release, along with a $250,000 fine.
The FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General and state police all took part in the investigation.
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