Department of Justice Seal Department of Justice
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2006
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
CRM
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888

Former RNC New England Regional Director Sentenced In New Hampshire Phone Jamming Case

WASHINGTON, D.C.—James Tobin, the former New England Regional Director of the Republican National Committee, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Steven McAuliffe of the District of New Hampshire to 10 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release, and a fine of $10,000, the Department of Justice announced today.

In December 2005, a federal jury convicted Tobin, 45, of two charges stemming from a scheme to disrupt phone service to five Democratic Party offices and a firefighters' ride-to-the-polls program on Election Day 2002. Tobin, a resident of Bangor, Maine, was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit telephone harassment in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 and 47 U.S.C. § 223 (a)(1)(D), and one count of aiding and abetting of telephone harassment in violation of 47 U.S.C. § 223(a)(1)(D) and 18 U.S.C. § 2. The jury acquitted Tobin on a charge of conspiracy to injure the free exercise of the right to vote; an additional charge relating to telephone harassment was dismissed prior to submission to the jury.

At trial, the government presented the testimony of Charles McGee, former Executive Director of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, and Allen Raymond of GOP Marketplace, who testified that Tobin had put them in touch with each other to conduct the scheme. Both McGee and Raymond, who previously pleaded guilty and had been sentenced for related charges, testified that the phone jamming would not have gone forward without Tobin’s involvement.

Another defendant, Shaun Hansen, is presently under indictment on related charges. Trial in the Hansen matter is scheduled for October 2006.

“This case underscores the Justice Department’s commitment to protecting the integrity of our election system,” said Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division.  “As today’s sentencing demonstrates, any attempt to undermine that integrity through illegal Election Day schemes will be prosecuted and punished appropriately.”

“A clean election is fundamental to the American democratic process,” stated Kenneth W. Kaiser, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Division. “Any attempts to interfere with an election will continue to be aggressively investigated by the FBI.”

The investigation was conducted by the Bedford, NH, resident agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Division. The prosecution was jointly handled by the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and the Public Integrity Section. The trial team included Andrew Levchuk and Lily Chinn of CCIPS and Nicholas Marsh of the Public Integrity Section. The team was supported by Aubrey Rupinta and Stephen Brannon of CCIPS.

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