San Jose, California - A federal grand jury returned a four count indictment charging a San Jose man with transmitting threats in the mail, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson, U.S. Secret Service Acting Special Agent in Charge Russell Nelson, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Inspector in Charge Rafael E. Nunez.
Robert Gary Toltzis, 52, of San Jose, is named as the sole defendant in all four counts of the indictment, which was unsealed earlier today. According to the indictment, beginning as early as 2006 and continuing through at least Oct. 2013, Toltzis executed a scheme to make threats of death, bodily injury, injury to reputation, and other forms of harassment to individuals based on their real or perceived sexual orientation, national origin, and ethnic background using, among other ways, the services of anonymous re-mailers, his own e-mail address, his Dell printer, and the U.S. mail. The scheme was directed toward at least sixteen different victims.
The indictment alleges that on certain occasions, Toltzis assumed the identity of one victim in transmitting his threats and harassing e-mails and mailings to a new or different victim, by among other ways, listing a victim’s name and return address on the envelope containing a threat mailed to another victim. Toltzis also sent copies of the written threats to the co-workers or relatives of his victims.
According to the indictment, on one occasion Toltzis mailed a letter containing a round of 9mm pistol ammunition, two Craigslist postings with graphic sexual images, and text that read as follows: The pics do say it all you are a disease spreading drug addict . . . the bullet says it all: I am going to kill you!!!
The indictment further alleges that on one occasion, Toltzis mailed a letter to a victim at his home claiming that the victim was a drug addict, bad husband, and a homosexual and urging the victim to kill himself.
The indictment further alleges that on one occasion, Toltzis mailed a letter to a victim at his place of employment, addressed to the victim’s boss. The one-page letter in the mailing included what appeared to be three color photographs superimposed on a Craigslist ad. The photographs included pictures of the victim. In one of the pictures, the word “HIV+” is superimposed on the victim’s forehead. The letter also included anti-homosexual slurs and multiple death threats.
The defendant made his initial appearance in federal court in San Francisco earlier today before Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Corley, who unsealed the indictment. He was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal. The defendant’s next appearance for ID of counsel and further status is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 17, 2014, at 1:30 p.m., before the Honorable Paul S. Grewal, United States Magistrate Court Judge, in San Jose.
The maximum statutory penalty for each count of sending threats in the mail is five years’ imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, three years of supervised release, and restitution if appropriate. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Timothy J. Lucey is the Assistant United States Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Laurie Worthen. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI with substantial assistance from the United States Secret Service and United States Postal Inspection Service.
Please note that an indictment contains only allegations. As with all defendants, Robert Gary Toltzis must be presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty.
