Overview

• A federal grand jury in Boston returned the indictment on May 30, charging Spofford with conspiracy to commit stalking through interstate travel and use of interstate commerce alongside two additional stalking counts.
• Prosecutors allege that between March and May 2022, Spofford hired friend Eric Labarge, paid him $20,000 in cash and provided victims’ addresses and detailed instructions for the harassment campaign.
• Labarge then recruited Tucker Cockerline, Keenan Saniatan and Michael Waselchuck to vandalize the homes of an NHPR reporter, a senior editor and their families by throwing bricks and spray-painting threatening messages.
• Labarge, Cockerline, Saniatan and Waselchuck have already been convicted on federal charges and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 21 to 46 months for their roles in the scheme.
• Spofford previously sued NHPR for defamation over its March 2022 exposé on his alleged misconduct, but a New Hampshire judge dismissed his lawsuit in 2023.