Queens man charged with threatening bank officer

A Queens homeowner who told a bank officer that the Second Amendment gave him the right to kill bank officers who wouldn't forgive his home equity loan, was charged in federal court in Brooklyn Wednesday with making illegal threats.

Michael Chung, 52, of Bayside, who was trying to sell a house with an outstanding $179,000 home equity loan to Sovereign Bank, argued to the bank that by filing a "Form UCC-3" the bank's interest should be extinguished without repayment, court papers said.

"The 2d Amendment to the National Constitution authorizes the use of deadly force to protect my interests as a national citizen," Chung added in a faxed letter to a fraud prevention officer for the bank in Pottsville, Pa., according to a criminal complaint. "I believe I have a basis to act in that manner."

Chung owns a licensed shotgun, officials said. He was charged with threatening both the officer and a Sovereign Bank lawyer who had been discussing the mortgage with him.

In a court appearance, he said he was confused about the judicial process, denied owning a shotgun or sending a fax, and was held without bail.