HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — A Massachusetts man responsible for mailing several threatening letters to actress Jodie Foster over the years was arrested Thursday on charges he mailed a bomb threat mentioning the Oscar-winning star to a Los Angeles-area airport.
U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan alleges that 42-year-old Holliston resident Michael Smegal sent the handwritten letter, which included the words "Jodie Foster S" and "going to be a gas bomb this building," to Van Nuys Airport in December, AP reports.
The letter was one of more than 100 almost identical letters which referenced Foster and were mailed to celebrities, business executives, airports and other locations in the Los Angeles area from September 2007 to January 2008, an affidavit revealed.
Smegal could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
The 45-year-old Foster is a two-time Academy Award-winning actress, director and producer. She won her first Oscar for her portrayal of a rape victim in the 1998 film "The Accused."
Foster, who stars later this year in the film "Nim's Island," first started receiving anonymous letters from Massachusetts in 2004. One year later, Smegal admitted that he had sent the letters and told police he would stop, the affidavit said.
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