posted on January 21, 2007 04:03:24 PM new
Pa. man's letter brings Secret Service
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - An elderly man who wrote in a letter to the editor about
Saddam Hussein's execution that "they hanged the wrong man" got a visit from
Secret Service agents concerned he was threatening President Bush.
The letter by Dan Tilli, 81, (AKA Sheepa or Bigpeepa if you will), was published in Monday's edition of The Express-Times of Easton, Pa. It ended with the line, "I still believe they hanged the wrong man."
Tilli said the statement was not a threat. "I didn't say who — I could've meant (Osama) bin Laden," he said Friday.
Two Secret Service agents questioned Tilli at his Bethlehem apartment Thursday, briefly searching the place and taking pictures of him, he said.
The Secret Service confirmed the encounter. Bob Slama, special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Philadelphia office, said it was the agency's duty to investigate.
The agents almost immediately decided Tilli was not a threat, Slama said
"We have no further interest in Dan," he said.
Tilli said the agents appeared more relaxed when he dug out a scrapbook containing more than 200 letters that he has written over the years, almost all on political topics.
"He said, 'Keep writing, but just don't make no threats,'" Tilli said of one of the agents.
It wasn't Tilli's first run-in with the federal government over his letter writing. Two
FBI agents from Allentown showed up at his home last year about a letter he wrote advocating a civil war to unseat Bush, he said.
"When I talk to liberals, I don't expect them to understand my positions on various issues. I spend most of my time trying to help them understand their own." —Mike Adams
posted on January 21, 2007 09:01:08 PM new
mingotree said,OH, I'm ever so glad the government is keeping us safe from these maniacal terrorists like Mr. Tilli !
Right mingo I bet those 2 tough guys Bear and the GRUNTER feel much safer now. LOL
Hey boys I'll give you two some good advice about BETHLEHEM. Bethlehem can be a rough town. The likes of you 2 fellows don't need to go there you may not feel safe there.
Are YOU a Bunghole?