Medford Man Charged with Lasing LNG Tanker

Boston, MA... A Medford man has been charged in federal court with shining a powerful green laser beam into a State Police helicopter escorting an LNG tanker through Boston Harbor, forcing it to abandon its escort mission, and with making false statements about his involvement to police investigators. United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan; George N. Naccara, Federal Security Director of the Transportation Security Administration; Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Division; Colonel Mark Delaney, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Chief Leo A. Sacco, Jr. of the Medford Police Department announced that GERARD SASSO, age 49, of 590 Main Street in Medford, Massachusetts, was charged in a Complaint with interfering with the operation of an aircraft with reckless disregard for the safety of human life and with making false statements. The Complaint alleges that on December 7, 2007, SASSO repeatedly pointed a powerful green laser beam with a range of up to three miles at a State Police helicopter that was escorting a liquid natural gas tanker through Boston Harbor. The Complaint alleges that the helicopter pilots were forced to take evasive action to avoid looking into the light and had to abandon their escort mission in order to track down the laser beams source, both for their own safety and the safety of planes landing at nearby Logan Airport. The Complaint alleges that police officers eventually identified SASSO as the likely source of the laser beam and questioned him in his home. The Complaint alleges that SASSO initially told the officers that he did not own any lasers and had nothing to do with the lasing incident, but that he eventually admitted responsibility. The Complaint alleges that police seized the laser SASSO pointed at the helicopter as well as nine other lasers from SASSOs home. According to the Complaint, the laser used by SASSO is classified as a Class IIIb laser by the Federal Drug Administration, which is the type of laser typically used for light shows and industrial and research applications. The Complaint alleges that the laser created a risk of burning and/or blindness at distances of up to a kilometer (approximately 3/5 of a mile), and it ran the risk of startling, distracting, disorienting, and even temporarily blinding the helicopter pilots at distances of up to three miles. SASSO was arrested on the charges and appeared in court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leo Sorokin. The charge of interfering with the operation of an aircraft carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment, a five-year term of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. The charge of making false statements carries a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment, a three-year term of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. The case was investigated by the FBIs Joint Terrorism Task Force, of which TSA is a member. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William D. Weinreb in Sullivans National Security and Counterterrorism Section. The details contained in the Complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.