Uxbridge Man Arrested For Threatening West Virginia Judge: Feds

UXBRIDGE, MA — A 40-year-old Uxbridge man was arrested on Tuesday for threatening to extort a West Virginia judge, federal prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors, Keith Lessard mailed threats — using the postal service and email — to a Kanawha County judge. Lessard had accused the judge of prosecutorial misconduct stemming from a 2010 incident where he was charged with forgery and uttering, according to court records.

Lessard told the judge he wanted $200 million, or would release information that would show she violated his civil rights, prosecutors said. There was no evidence the judge, who was formerly a prosecutor, ever engaged in misconduct on the job, federal prosecutors said.

Lessard was charged with mailing threatening complaints, which carries a potential two-year prison sentence.