Banned From Philly for Phone Threats

A South Philadelphia man's angry voicemails got him thrown out of town.

Richard Zangari, of South Philadelphia, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for threatening to set off explosives in Philadelphia Police headquarters and the District Attorney's office, Philly.com reported.  The court also prohibited Zangari from reentering the city without permission.

"Yes, hello, I'm down here in Philadelphia, guess what, got a van standing by with Semtex and barrels of explosives to blow up Philadelphia Police Headquarters sky high," Zangari said in a voicemail to the National Security Agency on April 3, Philly.com wrote. 

Zangari also threatened bodily harm to an assistant district attorney.  "Do you know how many people want to kill her right now, huh, to cut her up in pieces, they want her dead," he said in another voicemail, Philly.com reported.  "Now either she gets fired or she gets killed, either one or the other, now choose."

The South Philadelphia resident, who worked as a locksmith, placed 68 phone calls to the N.S.A. over the course of three months, leaving similar messages each time.  Zangari identified himself by his full name in the calls, Philly.com reported.  The N.S.A. traced each phone call back to his cell phone.

He pled guilty on July 8 to multiple counts of interstate communication crimes.  He will receive inpatient mental treatment after his release from prison.

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