Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge William F. Jung today sentenced Frank Anthony Pezzuto (73, Venice) to 15 months in federal prison for transmitting in interstate commerce communications threatening to injure certain members of Congress. The Court also ordered Pezzuto to pay a fine of $7,500. A federal jury found Pezzuto guilty on November 9, 2021.
According to evidence presented at trial, Pezzuto made three threatening phone calls from his home in Venice to certain congressional offices in Washington, D.C. The first call took place on January 25, 2020, when Pezzuto left a voicemail at Congressman E.S.’s office in which Pezzuto said that he was coming to kill E.S. Pezzuto subsequently left a voicemail at Congressman A.S.’s office on January 30, 2020, stating that he was a worker for MS-13 and that MS-13 was coming to cut off A.S.’s head. Then, on February 3, 2020, Pezzuto called Congresswoman I.O.’s office and stated to the person who answered the phone: “tell her I’m going to kill her today.”
Each time Pezzuto made these threatening calls, he used his cellphone but concealed his phone number and attempted to disguise his voice. United States Capitol Police were able to identify Pezzuto as the caller and confirm that the calls had been routed through a cell tower near Pezzuto’s home in Florida.
This case was investigated by United States Capitol Police. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Patrick Scruggs and Risha Asokan.