A man accused in a Harvard bomb threat and extortion plot is sentenced to 3 years probation

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — A New Hampshire man accused of participating in a plot in which a caller issued bomb threats last year to Harvard University and demanded a large amount of bitcoin was sentenced Thursday to three years of probation.

The threats caused the evacuation of Harvard’s Science Center Plaza and surrounding academic buildings, and the controlled detonation of what was later determined to be a hoax device on April 13, 2023, according to prosecutors.

William Giordani, 55, was arrested last year on charges including making an extortionate bomb threat. That charge was dropped, and he pleaded guilty to one count of concealing a federal felony, effectively knowing about a felony and not reporting it, according to his lawyer.

Giordani had faced a sentence of up to three years and a fine of up to $250,000. Prosecutors instead recommended a sentence of up to three years’ probation.