Westchester Man Threatened To Kill USPS Workers, Burn Down Post Offices: Feds

OSSINING, NY — Federal officials say that a man who was waiting on an especially important package (that did not arrive on time) turned to threats of violence to emphasize his customer service complaints.

Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Daniel B. Brubaker, the Inspector in Charge of the NY Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), announced that 46-year-old Anthony Alfano, of Ossining, was arrested on Friday in Yorktown Heights after he made several graphic and violent threats to kill U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employees and burn down U.S. post offices in Ossining. He was scheduled to appear that afternoon in White Plains federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Victoria Reznik.

"The charges against the defendant underscore this Office’s unwavering commitment to swiftly collaborate with our law enforcement partners to neutralize threats against the U.S. mail system," Williams said. "Any individual who dares to cross the line and threaten our postal employees and facilities with violence and destruction will be stopped in their tracks, and we will ensure they are held accountable for their actions."

According to court documents, on June 22 (a Saturday), Alfano was waiting for a package that had been mailed from a post office in Florida the evening before, which he claimed contained the cremated remains of his grandmother. The parcel was sent by Priority Mail Express 1-Day shipping and was estimated to arrive by 6 p.m.. on that Saturday.

Warning: Some readers may find some of the language in quotes from court documents to be offensive.

During several phone calls with USPS call center representatives before the package was scheduled to arrive, Alfano threatened to kill USPS employees and burn down U.S. post offices (because he believed the parcel was not going to arrive when he wanted it to), according to the complaint.

Alfano's rants, as reported by authorities, included a seemingly unending list of very specific threats.

• "I am gonna start killing you guys one by one."
• "People are going to die," and that there would be "a lot of dead bodies," "hurt people," and people who would "not be returning home."
• He swore to kill his local mail carrier, stating that he would "walk up to him" and "blow his brains out."
• Alfano mentioned a notorious "massacre," and warned that it would not "have shit on what I’m about to do" and that his actions would go down "in history."
• He made threats to kill members of the postal police by using incendiary ammunition, as well as threats to burn down U.S. post offices.
• Alfano welcomed the arrival of the postal police and said, "as soon as they show up at my door they’re gonna catch a hot one," referring to shooting them with a "napalm round" from his 12-gauge shotgun. "I’m going to kill every one of those motherfuckers," he said.
• "I’m gonna burn all the post offices down to the ground" and said he would go to his local post office and "burn it down to the fucking ground."

In order to emphasize his commitment to carry out his threats, he said several times, "I don’t make threats, I make promises," according to prosecutors.

Authorities said Alfano also swore to carry out his threats and said, "I really don’t care if I go to jail or not."

On June 24 (a Monday), Alfano received his parcel on the next business day after it had been mailed out on the Friday before.

According to the complaint, Alfano has a history of encounters with law enforcement because of prior threats he has made against others, including police officers, delivery workers, and customer service representatives.

He was charged with threatening interstate communications, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and willfully making a threat involving fire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

"The U.S. Postal Inspection Service does not take lightly any threats of violence against USPS employees," USPIS Inspector in Charge Daniel B. Brubaker said. "This behavior will never be tolerated, and we will work with our local and federal law enforcement partners to maintain a safe working environment for the postal employees we protect. That is our mission, and that is our unwavering commitment to the people we serve."

Williams praised the work of the USPIS in investigating the threats charged in the complaint and undertaking security measures to protect USPS employees and facilities. He also thanked the Village of Ossining Police Department and the City of Peekskill Police Department for their assistance in this case.

The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Reyhan Watson is in charge of the prosecution.