BOSTON – A Boston man was arrested today and charged in federal court in Boston in connection with making threats to a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Task Force Officer.
Carmen J. Polito, 35, was charged in a criminal complaint with knowingly transmitting in interstate communications containing a threat to kidnap or injure an FBI Task Force Officer in Miami, Fla. At his initial appearance today, U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge M. Page Kelley ordered a competency evaluation.
According to court documents, on May 3, 2017, Polito, an individual known to the FBI Miami Division, left threatening voice mails and sent threatening text messages to an FBI Task Force Officer assigned to the Miami Field Division. In those voice messages, Polito threatened to stab the officer and made statements such as, “an officer is going to die.” Polito also sent threatening texts with accompanying photographs including, various weapons, Boston City Hall, and police vehicles.
Federal agents were able to locate Polito by tracking the location of the cell phone used to place the calls and send the texts. On May 3, 2017, Polito was located in Brookline, Mass., and arrested.
The charging statute provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Brookline Police Chief Daniel C. O’Leary made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Weinreb’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.