17 March 2005 – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – Marcos Daniel Jiménez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Michael S. Clemens, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI);
Enrique Gutierrez, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service
(USPIS), Miami Division; and Ken Jenne, Sheriff, Broward County Sheriff’s Office
(BSO), announced today the return of a forty-one (41) count Indictment by a grand
jury sitting in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, charging defendant, Dane Ray Swindell, of
Memphis, Tennessee, with falsely reporting the presence of an explosive device and
using the mail to send threatening communications. Swindell was arrested on October
1, 2004, at his home in Memphis.
The charges stem from an investigation conducted by the FBI, USPIS, and BSO,
through the Miami Joint Terrorism Task Force, into two (2) sets of anonymous
mailings by Swindell in August and September 2004. Each envelope in the first
mailing, which occurred on or about August 30, 2004, contained a sheet of paper
with the typed message “BOMB IN YOUR BUILDING!!! NO ELECTION POLLS HERE!!!” Each
envelope was sent to a different elementary school in Broward County, fourteen
(14) in total, that was being used as a polling place for Broward’s primary
election. Counts one (1) through fourteen (14) of the Indictment charge Swindell
with violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 844(e), in making these false
bomb threats.
The second mailing consisted of twenty-seven (27) envelopes addressed to the mayors
of municipalities across Broward County. Each envelope contained a white powdery
substance that the recipients feared to be anthrax. Counts fifteen (15) to
forty-one (41) of the Indictment charge Swindell with violating Title 18, United
States Code, Section 876(c), in making these threatening communications.
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum statutory term of imprisonment of ten
(10) years and a maximum fine of up to $250,000 per count.
Mr. Jiménez commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Broward County
Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney
Richard Getchell.
