Former Monmouth County, NJ resident pleads guilty to making threatening calls and emails

A man who once resided in Monmouth County and then threatened a series of people while he was living outside of the country, now faces 20-years in prison.

For reasons unknown, the now 31-year-old Eric G. Hafner began threatening people in and across Monmouth County between July of 2016 and May of 2018.

The people he threatened during that time were elected officials, judges, police officers, attorneys, and their families, according to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger, and in the process was trying to extort $350,000 from some of them.

In addition to those threats, Hafner also made several bomb threats to an undisclosed elected official's office, county courthouse, an unspecified police department, two undisclosed law firms, and an unknown business.

On Tuesday, Hafner pleaded guilty in court to making those threatening calls and sending those threatening emails to the aforementioned people and offices which led to the charges of one count of making threatening communications in interstate or foreign commerce with intent to extort, one count of making threatening communications in interstate or foreign commerce, and one count of conveying false information concerning the use of an explosive device.

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Hafner now faces up to 20-years in prison for making threatening communications in interstate or foreign commerce with intent to extort along with a $250,000 fine, 10-years in prison for conveying false information concerning the use of an explosive device along with a $250,000 fine, 5-years in prison for making threatening communications in interstate or foreign commerce along with a $250,000 fine.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ian D. Brater and R. Joseph Gribko of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.

Defense counsel: Mark Catanzaro Esq. of Mount Holly, New Jersey.