Tewksbury Man Sentenced For 'Relentless Stalking Campaign'

CONCORD, NH -- Michael Dube, 48, of Tewksbury, was sentenced to five years probation and fined $18,500 after pleading guilty to three counts of mailing threatening communications in U.S. Federal Court in New Hampshire. Dube sent letters to a victim in Sandown, NH which included threats to break the addressee’s legs, sexually assault his daughter, and to kill his son.

"By sending these threatening communications to the victim, the defendant attempted to create a climate of fear and intimidation," said Acting U.S. Attorney John J. Farley.

Dube owns the Clean-Sweep Landscaping and Tree Service in Tewksbury. In addition to the letters, a mother and daughter in the family that was targeted told police Dube had contacted them by telephone and email. The threats began soon after the mother broke off a three-year romantic relationship with Dube.

The letters were sent between March 2 and June 2 in 2016 and postmarked from Boston. The case was investigated by the Sandown Police Department and the FBI. The Derry Police Department, the Salem, NH Police Department, the Raymond Police Department, and the Tewksbury Police Department also assisted in the investigation.

"Mr. Dube was blinded by his obsession and oblivious to the impact of his crimes. He carried out a relentless stalking campaign whereby he violated his victim’s privacy and threatened those around him," said Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation Boston Division.

Dube was originally charged with 13 crimes but 10 of the charges were dropped when the case was moved to federal court in Concord. Dube pleaded guilty to the three charges in November. At that hearing -- in which court documents show that Dube also threatened to poison the family's pets and that he had put wooden boards with exposed nails in the family's driveway -- Sandown Police Chief Joseph Gordon expressed anger that Dube was unlikely to get a prison sentence for his crimes.

"Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like he's going to go to prison for this," Gordon told the Eagle-Tribune in November. "It's disappointing that this incident ruined the lives of this family for a very long time and will have everlasting effects."

It took investigators seven months to link Dube to the threatening communications. Investigators used an undercover female officer to arrange a meeting with Dube in Connecticut. Last july an undercover officer in Salem, NH arrested Dube after a brief struggle.

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Photo by Sandown Police Department.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).