Just as his criminal trial was set to begin, a former commodities broker pleaded guilty today to making threats to kill more than 40 current or former members of the SEC and other regulators. Vincent P. McCrudden, who last December posted a so-called "execution list" to the website of the management company for a commodities fund he controlled, faces up to ten years in prison for the two counts he copped to.
"He's decided to accept responsibility for the conduct in which he engaged," Bruce Barket, McCrudden's lawyer, said this afternoon. "He apologized to the court, to his family and to people whose names were on the Web postings he made." At the time of the initial arrest, Barket claimed that McCrudden (who apparently is a very angry trader) was acting within his normal MO of sending off fiery e-mails when he was engaged in litigation. But that was before the government found a Facebook page directly linked to McCrudden that offered "250,000 euros ($351,175) to any group 'with proof of killing' any on a list of people."
"This defendant crossed the line when he directly threatened to kill public officials who were working to keep our financial markets fair and open, and invited others to join him," US Attorney Loretta Lynch said in a statement. "He thought he could hide in the shadows of the Internet and disseminate his threats and instructions. He was wrong."
Last December, while living in Singapore, McCruden posted the execution list and sought home addresses and other personal information about government officials, according to prosecutors he wrote “Go buy a gun, and let’s get to work in taking back our country from these criminals. I will be the first one to lead by example.”
