Legal News

Prolific Hatemail Author Pleads Guilty; Faces Up to 35 Years

By Dan Slater

Without shedding any light on why he did it, David Tuason pleaded guilty yesterday to six counts of mailing threatening communications and two counts of threatening interstate communications. AUSA Dean Valore estimated that Tuason, 46, sent more than 200 racially hateful letters or emails, many to black or mixed-race men seen with white women. Recipients included New York Yankee Derek Jeter and Justice Clarence Thomas, whose wife is white. Here’s the AP story.

Tuason (pictured), a man of Filipino descent who lived in the Cleveland burbs with his parents, also sent threatening letters to high school, college and professional athletes, as well as coaches, celebrities, musicians, news anchors, hospitals, police departments, and, much to the LB’s dismay, lawyers. In many, he reportedly posed as an angry white woman threatening violent acts. The letters date to the late 1980s and appeared to stop in the early 1990s but started again later that decade.

FBI agents arrested Tuason on March 14 after tracking e-mails sent from a public library. The DOJ agreed to not bring any additional criminal charges against Tuason based on evidence known when the agreement was reached May 8, or to pursue criminal charges against his parents. He could be sentenced to up to five years in prison for each count, and an additional five years for having threatened a federal judge. His sentencing is scheduled for July.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on May 16, 2008 (boomark / email).