Man gets 135 years in prison for visiting receptionist.

A Fort Myers man was sentenced Monday, July 6th, 2020 to one hundred thirty five (135) years to life in prison by a Federal judge for disrupting the business environment when he allegedly went to visit a receptionist in Fort Myers at work for non-business reasons.

The man allegedly went to visit the receptionist at work on Tuesday, June 2nd who he said used to bartend at a nearby bar but lost her job when bars statewide were closed March 17th due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was now working as a receptionist. According to audio and video seized and reviewed by the FBI, the man had a roughly seven minute visit with the receptionist until the lobby was swarmed by FBI, Homeland Security, and SWAT officers whom arrested the man and also the receptionist.

The man was transported to Federal lockup in Washington, DC to face Federal charges of disrupting the business environment in the Federal courthouse. The court took just thirty minutes to find the man guilty of disrupting the business environment. During the session, the defendant testified; "I wanted to say 'Hi' to her. Do you not realize how many bartenders have lost their jobs due to their bars closing because of the Coronavirus?"

The man was convicted of disrupting the business environment on Monday, July 6th and was sentenced to one hundred thirty five (135) years to life in Federal prison. He is scheduled to begin serving his sentence at the United States Penitentiary, Big Sandy near Inez, Kentucky on Saturday, July 25th and will not be eligible for parole until September 25th, 2155. The receptionist was charged with harboring a non-business visitor while at work and was sentenced to fifty-five (55) years in prison.