BOSTON — A Massachusetts man who sent threatening letters with white powder to President Donald Trump’s sons, Antonio Sabato Jr., Sen. Debbie Stabenow and a law professor was sentenced Friday in federal court to five years of probation.
A judge declined to send Daniel Frisiello to prison, as prosecutors had sought, due to concerns the 25-year-old man from Beverly, who is developmentally disabled, would not respond well to incarceration. But he stressed the sentence wasn’t “lenient.”
“Do not underestimate how serious I am treating your crimes,” Judge Nathaniel Gorton said to Frisiello as the dozens of his family members, friends and supporters who packed the court proceeding hugged, cried and sighed in relief.
Frisiello was also ordered to serve his first year of probation in home confinement, and has been banned for the full five years from accessing the internet or sending mail without prior approval. Frisiello also won’t be allowed to have a computer, tablet or other device with access to the internet.
Frisiello, who pleaded guilty in October to sending the threatening letters, thanked Groton for not imprisoning him. The past year, he said, has been “hell” for his family.
Frisiello’s family, in a statement after the court appearance, said he “deeply regrets the fear and harm he caused and will work very hard to be a better person and citizen.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Garland, who had sought a three-year prison sentence, argued that Frisiello had carefully considered the letter writing campaign, which included 13 letters over three years. He researched the best addresses and took steps to avoid detection, like dropping them off at different mailboxes, Garland said.
“This was not an impulsive thing,” he said. “At every step, there was a chance for deliberation.”
Imposing only probation, Garland said, was akin to sending Frisiello back to the life he had before his arrest, which was largely spent at home on the internet.
Frisiello lawyer’s William Fick argued that prison would be physically and mentally harmful to his client, who he said has significant developmental issues from brain damage at birth, autism and anxiety disorder.
