DealBook: Trader Pleads Guilty to Threatening Financial Regulators

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg NewsMary L. Schapiro, the S.E.C.’s chairwoman, and Gary Gensler, the C.F.T.C.’s chairman.

Vincent McCrudden, a former trader, pleaded guilty to charges that he threatened to kill more than 40 current and former regulatory officials, including Mary Schapiro of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Gary Gensler of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Mr. McCrudden, 50, admitted on Monday to using e-mails and Internet posts to threaten various officials.

“This defendant crossed the line when he directly threatened to kill public officials who were working to keep our financial markets fair and open, and invited others to join him,” Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. “He thought he could hide in the shadows of the Internet and disseminate his threats and instructions. He was wrong.”

He sent one email to the vice president and chief operating officer at the National Futures Association, with the subject line “You’re a Dead Man,” according to the release by the Justice Department. On a website operated by Mr. McCrudden, he implored others to join the cause, telling them to go “buy a gun.” The website also included an “execution list” with more than 40 current and former officials at the S.E.C., the C.F.T.C., the N.F.A., and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Justice Department release said.

“The conduct of McCrudden was way beyond mere speech. By his admission, he not only directly threatened to kill government and regulatory officials, but he also listed dozens of officials and offered a reward to others to kill them,” Assistant Director-in-Charge at the Federal Bureau of Investigation Janice K. Fedarcyk said in a statement. “This outrageous conduct is not only dangerous, but an affront to civil society.”

Mr. McCrudden, who will be sentenced by United States District Judge Denis R. Hurley, faces a maximum prison term of 10 years.

Article source: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/07/18/trader-pleads-guilty-to-threatening-to-kill-financial-regulators/?partner=rss&emc=rss