Man Indicted For Hoax Bomb Threats To LI Hospital, Nursing Homes: DOJ

BROOKLYN, NY — A 23-count indictment was unsealed on Tuesday charging a man in connection with hoax bomb threats at hospitals and care centers on Long Island and in New York City, prosecutors said.

Domagoj Patkovic was charged with conspiring to make and making threats concerning explosives, conspiring to transmit and transmitting threatening communications, and conveying false information concerning explosives, the U.S. Attorney's office for the Eastern District announced.

Patkovic was arrested Tuesday morning at his residence in Portland, Oregon.

"As alleged, the defendant and his coconspirators, motivated by their hatred of Jewish people, targeted Jewish hospitals and care centers in New York City and on Long Island with hoax bomb threats, needlessly endangering patients and staff by creating chaos and alarm," U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said.

Beginning at least as early as May 2021, Patkovic and others made violent threats, including threats to detonate explosive devices, on six phone calls to Jewish hospitals and care centers within the Eastern District of New York and elsewhere.

According to the court documents, on Sept. 15, 2021, a phone operator at a Jewish hospital in Nassau County received an anonymous call. The perso identified himself as "Abrahimavich" and stated that he had placed “C-4 in maintenance closets” at the hospital, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

He further threatened, “I’m gonna blow you to bits you f***ing k***e b***h.” The phone operator called the Nassau County Police Department for assistance. Shortly thereafter, personnel at the NYPD 911 call center placed a call to the originating number and spoke with an individual who sounded to be, and who claimed to be, the caller from the threat call, Attorney Peace said.

The individual identified himself as “Abrahimavich” and claimed, “I just called the hospital requesting my f***ing million dollars or I’m going to blow this k**e f***ing b***h to
the sky.” He provided the victim's address, the court document claims. Officers from the Nassau County Police Department responded to the scene, causing lockdown of the entire hospital as well as partial evacuation. Officers and security personnel searched the building with negative results.

Prosecutors asked the judge to "enter a permanent order of detention pending trial because the defendant presents a danger to the community and a serious risk of flight."

If convicted, he faces up to 155 years’ imprisonment.