NH man involved in bomb extortion of Harvard sentenced to probation

Paul Feely, The New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchester
·2 min read

Apr. 26—A Nashua man accused of taking part in a scheme involving bomb threats called in to Harvard University last year and demands for large amounts of Bitcoin was sentenced this week in federal court to a lesser charge, prosecutors said.

William Giordani, 55, was arrested last year on charges including making an extortionate bomb threat that caused the evacuation of Harvard's Science Center Plaza and surrounding academic buildings. The charge was dropped, and he pleaded guilty to one count of concealing a federal felony. More simply put, he admitted to knowing about a felony and not reporting it, his lawyer said.

U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley sentenced Giordani this week to three years of probation. Federal prosecutors say on April 13, 2023, that Giordani placed a large tool bag that contained a locked safe containing fireworks and electrical wires in the center of Harvard's Science Center Plaza, where students and others had gathered.

A short time later a caller, using a voice-changing app to conceal his identity, called the Harvard University Police Department and said that he had placed three bombs on the Harvard campus. The caller demanded an unspecified amount of Bitcoin to prevent the remote detonation of the bombs.

In several additional calls, the caller told Harvard police that he was serious about his demands and that they could find the first bomb in the Science Center Plaza.

Harvard police discovered the device planted by Giordani next to a bench in the center of Science Center Plaza and issued an emergency evacuation order of the area and nearby buildings. A bomb squad from the Cambridge Police Department responded and disabled the device.

No additional devices were found on campus that day.

An investigation revealed Giordani had been recruited to join the extortion scheme via a craigslist.org advertisement, prosecutors said. Once Giordani knew he had been recruited to assist in an extortionate bomb scheme, he had an obligation under federal law to report that scheme to law enforcement authorities, officials said.

"Instead, he deleted incriminating text messages, told his girlfriend not to speak to anyone about it and went on the run from police," prosecutors said in a news release.