Latest news with #EricSpofford
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
They Reported on Him — Then the Bricks Started Flying: Inside Allegations Against CEO Accused of Targeting Journalists
Eric Spofford, former CEO of Granite Recovery Centers, was arrested over allegations of retaliating against New Hampshire Public Radio journalists Prosecutors say Spofford paid a friend $20,000 to lead a coordinated harassment campaign from March to May 2022 Several men carried out acts of vandalism and intimidation, including smashing windows and spray-painting threatsThe former CEO of Granite Recovery Centers was arrested Friday over allegations of stalking and orchestrating attacks on the homes of New Hampshire Public Radio journalists who published claims of sexual misconduct against him. Eric Spofford, 40, the CEO of the New Hampshire-based network of drug and alcohol treatment centers, was accused of targeting journalists at NHPR in retaliation for an investigation they published where the NPR station allegedly revealed multiple accusations of sexual misconduct during his leadership, according to a statement by the Department of Justice. The NHPR article, which detailed multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, abusive leadership and retaliation by Spofford during his time as CEO, garnered significant local and national media attention, according to the statement. Spofford denied the allegations and later sued the media organizations for defamation, but a New Hampshire judge dismissed his lawsuit in 2023. Prosecutors say that from March to May 2022, Spofford devised a scheme in which he paid his close friend, Eric Labarge, $20,000 to harass and terrorize Lauren Chooljian — the journalist who wrote the article — along with her immediate family and a senior editor at NHPR. Labarge then allegedly enlisted the help of Tucker Cockerline, Keenan Saniatan and Michael Waselchuck to carry out the stalking campaign, per the statement from the Department of Justice. The men are accused of having vandalized the homes of Chooljian, her editor, and a house where her parents previously lived, smashing windows with rocks and bricks, The New York Times reported. One of the vandals spray-painted 'Just the beginning!' on an outside wall of her four men were previously charged and have been convicted, per the Department of Justice. Labarge was sentenced to 46 months in prison in November 2024. Cockerline received 27 months in August 2024. Saniatan was sentenced to 30 months in September 2024 and Waselchuck received 21 months in prison that same month. Spofford has been indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit stalking through interstate travel, one count of stalking using a facility of interstate commerce and two counts of stalking through interstate travel. Read the original article on People
New York Times
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Corrections: June 3, 2025
An article on May 25 about an unconventional program that claims to reverse Alzheimer's symptoms referred imprecisely to the sales of Dale Bredesen's book 'The End of Alzheimer's.' The title has sold around 300,000 copies in the United States, not overall. Because of an editing error, an article on Sunday about a neighborhood on the outskirts of Berlin that was built for the elite guard of the Nazi Reich misidentified the spokesman for Vonovia, a company that serves as a landlord for some 300 apartments in the development was misidentified. He is Matthias Wulff, not Wulaaff. An article on Sunday about the Energy Department's announcement that it was terminating $3.7 billion in Biden-era awards to companies trying to demonstrate technologies that might one day help tackle global warming misidentified the location of a Heidelberg Materials cement plant. It is in Indiana, not Louisiana. An article on Saturday about a federal grand jury indicting a former New Hampshire businessman, Eric Spofford, on charges that he orchestrated attacks on the homes of journalists who had investigated claims of sexual misconduct against him misstated how much money Mr. Spofford is accused of paying an associate to vandalize the homes of a reporter and an editor at New Hampshire Public Radio as well as the home of the reporter's parents. It was $20,000, not $10,000. An article on Sunday about the actress and singer Megan Hilty's routine on show days while she's starring in the Broadway musical 'Death Becomes Her' misstated Brian Gallagher's age. He is 45, not 52. An obituary on May 23 about Jim Irsay, the owner and chief executive of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League, misstated the location of his death. It occurred in a hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., not Los Angeles. An obituary on Thursday about Bruce Logan, a special effects artist and cinematographer, using information from David Zucker, one of the directors of 'Airplane!,' misstated Mr. Logan's contribution to that film. He worked on miniatures; he did not design the title sequence. Errors are corrected during the press run whenever possible, so some errors noted here may not have appeared in all editions. To contact the newsroom regarding correction requests, please email nytnews@ To share feedback, please visit Comments on opinion articles may be emailed to letters@ For newspaper delivery questions: 1-800-NYTIMES (1-800-698-4637) or email customercare@
CTV News
a day ago
- Health
- CTV News
Ex-CEO of New Hampshire drug treatment centres charged in scheme to vandalize journalists' homes
CONCORD, N.H. — The founder and former CEO of New Hampshire's largest network of addiction treatment centres has been charged with orchestrating threats and vandalism targeting New Hampshire Public Radio journalists who published sexual misconduct allegations about him. Eric Spofford, 40, who lives in both Salem, New Hampshire, and Miami, was arrested Friday after being indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of stalking and one count of conspiracy to commit stalking. The man he is accused of paying to carry out the 2022 attacks and three others who were involved have already been convicted. According to prosecutors, the homes of an NHPR editor, reporter and the reporter's parents were hit with bricks, rocks and red spray paint in six incidents in April and May 2022. In one incident, a brick was thrown through reporter Lauren Chooljian's window in Massachusetts, and the phrase 'JUST THE BEGINNING!' was spray-painted on the front of her home. The attacks came after Choolijian published a story describing sexual assault and harassment allegations against Spofford, who founded Granite Recovery Centers in 2008 and sold the business in 2021. He denied the allegations and later sued the journalists, alleging defamation, but the case was dismissed. Court documents do not list an attorney for Spofford, who was scheduled to make an initial court appearance in Boston on Monday. A lawyer who had previously represented him did not respond to a phone message or email. Prosecutors say Spofford paid his friend, Eric Labarge, US$20,000 to vandalize the homes and provided the addresses and specific instructions. Labarge is serving 46 months in prison; three other men who helped carry out the attacks were given sentences ranging from 21 to 30 months. By Holly Ramer, The Associated Press
Associated Press
a day ago
- Health
- Associated Press
Ex-CEO of New Hampshire drug treatment centers charged in scheme to vandalize journalists' homes
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The founder and former CEO of New Hampshire's largest network of addiction treatment centers has been charged with orchestrating threats and vandalism targeting New Hampshire Public Radio journalists who published sexual misconduct allegations about him. Eric Spofford, 40, who lives in both Salem, New Hampshire, and Miami, was arrested Friday after being indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of stalking and one count of conspiracy to commit stalking. The man he is accused of paying to carry out the 2022 attacks and three others who were involved have already been convicted. According to prosecutors, the homes of an NHPR editor, reporter and the reporter's parents were hit with bricks, rocks and red spray paint in six incidents in April and May 2022. In one incident, a brick was thrown through reporter Lauren Chooljian's window in Massachusetts, and the phrase 'JUST THE BEGINNING!' was spray-painted on the front of her home. The attacks came after Choolijian published a story describing sexual assault and harassment allegations against Spofford, who founded Granite Recovery Centers in 2008 and sold the business in 2021. He denied the allegations and later sued the journalists, alleging defamation, but the case was dismissed. Court documents do not list an attorney for Spofford, who was scheduled to make an initial court appearance in Boston on Monday. A lawyer who had previously represented him did not respond to a phone message or email. Prosecutors say Spofford paid his friend, Eric Labarge, $20,000 to vandalize the homes and provided the addresses and specific instructions. Labarge is serving 46 months in prison; three other men who helped carry out the attacks were given sentences ranging from 21 to 30 months.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Former rehab exec charged in alleged harassment of N.H. journalists
May 31 (UPI) -- The former leader of two rehab centers faces federal charges in the alleged harassment of New Hampshire Public Radio journalists in retaliation for an unfavorable news story about alleged sexual misconduct. Eric Spofford, 40, was arrested Friday after being indicted by a federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts on one count of conspiracy to commit stalking through interstate travel and using a facility of interstate commerce; one count of stalking using a facility of interstate commerce; and two counts of stalking through interstate travel, the Departmentof Justice announced. Each count is punishable by up to five years imprisonment, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Spofford is the founder and former chief executive officer of the for-profit Granite Recovery Centers in Salem, N.H., and Miami. He has an arraignment hearing scheduled at 3:30 p.m. EDT Monday at the federal courthouse in Boston. GRC is one of the largest drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers in New England, and Spofford sold it in 2021 for $115 million, The New York Times reported. Many abuses detailed NHPR on March 22, 2022, published an online article that discussed allegations of sexual misconduct, abusive leadership and retaliation by Spofford. He allegedly harassed former patients and staff, and was accused of sexually assaulting at least two staff members. One former patient said he sent her unwanted text messages and at least one photo of an obscene nature, which she said caused her to suffer a relapse. Several staffers and a former chief operating officer left GRC due to the alleged behavior by Spofford, according to the article. He denied the allegations, but the article gained a lot of attention locally and nationally, according to the DOJ. He sued the public radio station for defamation, but a judge dismissed the case in 2023. A scheme to 'harass and terrorize' From March 2022 through at least May 2022, Spofford allegedly "devised a scheme to harass and terrorize the journalist who authored the article, the journalist's immediate family members [and] a senior editor at NHPR," the DOJ said. Federal prosecutors say he paid a close friend, Eric Labarge, $20,000 to undertake the scheme and provided him with names, addresses and instructions on how to stalk and harass the intended victims. Labarge enlisted the help of three others to stalk and harass the victims, all of whom were charged and convicted of crimes related to the scheme, DOJ said. Labarge, Tucker Cockerline, Keenan Saniatan and Michael Waselchuk last year were sentenced to between 21 months and 46 months in prison.
