(PatriotWise.com) — A former Massachusetts school superintendent who admitted to lying about sending nearly 100 anonymous threatening texts to a candidate for police chief in 2021 pleaded guilty in federal court last Tuesday to making false statements to the FBI, the Boston Globe reported.
According to a statement from the US Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts, Belchertown resident Lynn Clark, 53, the former superintendent of Chicopee Public Schools, was charged with two counts of making false statements in connection to an FBI investigation into threatening texts sent to a candidate for Chicopee Police Chief.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, Chicopee was vetting candidates for a new chief of police in late 2021. On December 3, police were notified that one candidate had received threats in an attempt to force them out of the running.
The victim reportedly received scores of anonymous text messages from multiple numbers in November 2021 threatening to reveal information about the candidate that would cause “reputational harm,” the statement said. In light of the threats, the victim withdrew from consideration, delaying the city’s selection process.
The case was referred to the FBI.
In total, the FBI found 99 threatening text messages all sent from phony numbers purchased through a smartphone app. Internet and phone records revealed that the phony numbers were purchased by Lynn Clark.
When questioned by the FBI, Clark falsely claimed to be the victim, telling agents that she also received anonymous threatening texts. Investigators discovered that Clark sent the texts to herself.
Clark denied downloading the app that she used to purchase the numbers and also falsely accused another city employee of being responsible for the anonymous messages.
Clark was arrested on April 6, 2022, and was indicted two weeks later.
Clark initially pleaded not guilty but subsequently agreed to a plea deal. She will be sentenced on April 30.
Clark’s attorney, Jared Olanoff, said on Tuesday that they accepted the plea agreement because his client wanted to “move on from this.” Olanoff added that the consequences Clark had suffered over the past 18 months had been “far beyond what the sentence will be.”
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