A New York man who left threatening voicemails to a federal judge presiding over the case of Michael Flynn was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Monday.
Frank Caporusso, who hails from Long Island, was arrested in August after he was heard saying U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan and his associates would be killed if he did not “back out” of the case against the former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, who was accused of lying to the FBI about conversations with a Russian envoy.
In April, Caporusso reached a deal with authorities and pleaded guilty to influencing, impeding, or retaliating Against a federal official by threat.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, an associate of Sullivan, handed down the sentence after playing the voicemails during the court proceeding, according to CNN.
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“Back out of this bulls*** before it’s too late, or we’ll start cutting down your staff. This is not a threat. This is a promise,” the Long Island man said, adding that a “hot piece of lead will cut through your skull.”
McFadden said the message was “nothing less than an attack on our system of government.”
Caporusso, who said he was “shocked and embarrassed” by the voicemail, issued an apology during the proceedings after his attorneys argued his judgment was marred by alcohol and opioid dependency.
“I was not thinking well or doing well at the time,” Caporusso said, adding he wished to “humbly apologize” to the judge.
A statement from Sullivan, which indicated that he felt “fear,” was read to the court. The judge said he took “unprecedented measures” to keep his family safe and felt “more circumspect” about daily interactions.
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Caporusso was also sentenced to two years of supervised release, during which he will be barred from consuming alcohol.
The case against Flynn was dropped in December 2020 after Trump pardoned the retired Army lieutenant general.
Trump fired Flynn in February of 2017 after the administration said he lied to former Vice President Mike Pence about conversations with Russia’s ambassador to the United States a few weeks before Trump’s inauguration.
