LI man indicted in threats to SEC

A Long Island businessman was indicted Wednesday on charges of threatening to injure more than 40 people, including the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission and other current and former officials of public and private financial regulatory agencies.

Vincent McCrudden, 49, who has lived in Long Beach and Dix Hills, was arrested by FBI agents on Jan. 13 at Newark Liberty International Airport, as he returned from Singapore, on a federal complaint containing similar accusations. He is being held without bail as an alleged danger to the community.

Wednesday's action means McCrudden has been indicted by a grand jury after hearing the government's evidence in the case. McCrudden's arraignment and bail hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. McCrudden's attorney, Bruce Barket of Garden City, said his client intends to plead not guilty when he is arraigned. Barket said he is seeking a hearing to get McCrudden released on bail.

"McCrudden is no threat to anyone and just uses intemperate language, Barket said. Keeping him in jail without bail is "overkill," he said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Caffarone declined to comment.

One count of the indictment charges McCrudden with posting statements in December on one of his financial companies' websites that included an "Execution List" of 47 people. Among the postings were threatening remarks that included, "Go buy a gun, and lets [sic] get to work taking back our country from these criminals. I will be the first one to lead by example," the indictment says.

McCrudden also asked on the website of his financial services company, Alnbri Management, based in Dix Hills, for home addresses, phone numbers and background information on the chairmen of the SEC and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission and seven other people involved in financial regulations, the indictment says.

A second count charges McCrudden with sending an e-mail in late September that ostensibly was from the chairman of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission to an employee of the private National Futures Association, threatening to kill him.

According to the indictment, the e-mail says: "It wasn't ever a question of 'if' I was going to kill you, it was just a question of when. . . . You are going to die a painful death."The indictment says McCrudden has had a long history of clashing with public and private financial regulatory agencies.

If convicted, he faces up to 5 years in prison on each charge of transmitting threats to injure a person or people.