Latest news with #GraniteRecoveryCenters
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
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.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Feds arrest addiction CEO for allegedly conspiring to stalk journalists
The former CEO of Granite Recovery Centers, a network of drug and alcohol treatment centers in New Hampshire, was arrested Friday for allegedly orchestrating a conspiracy to stalk journalists, the Department of Justice said in a statement. Eric Spofford, 40, was accused of targeting journalists employed by New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) in retaliation for publishing an investigation that allegedly revealed multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against him while he was the CEO of the recovery centers. Spofford opened the Granite Recovery Centers after struggling with heroin addiction and turned the business into the largest addiction treatment network in New Hampshire. The NHPR article made a splash, grabbing the attention of local and national media, officials said. Spofford publicly denied the allegations and later sued the public radio station for defamation. He claimed the public radio station filed a "hit piece" against him. He said in his complaint that as a result of the investigation, financial institutions declined to do business with him, had vendors abruptly resign from working with his companies, and was distanced from working with New Hampshire politicians. He said in court documents that he didn't feel comfortable in his home state after the investigation was published. A New Hampshire judge dismissed Spofford's lawsuit in 2023. The Department of Justice said Spofford devised a plan beginning in or about March 2022 and continuing through at least May 2022, to harass and terrorize the journalist who authored the article, the journalist's immediate family members, as well as a senior editor in response and retaliation for the station's reporting. He allegedly hired his close friend Eric Labarge to vandalize and spray paint the victims' homes with large rocks and bricks, lewd and threatening language. "JUST THE BEGINNING" was spray-painted on the reporter's home, according to WBUR radio station. Spofford allegedly paid Labarge $20,000 in cash, gave him the victims' addresses and directions on how to harass them. Labarge, in turn, hired Tucker Cockerline, Keenan Saniatan and Michael Waselchuck to carry out the stalking campaign. Labarge, Cockerline, Saniatan and Waselchuck were charged, convicted and sentenced to prison for their involvement in the harassment campaign. Spofford said he sold Granite Recovery Centers for nine figures in 2021. CBS News reached out to Spofford for comment on his arrest. He is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on Monday. New Hampshire Public Radio said they were grateful to the Department of Justice for pursuing the case. "Everyone at New Hampshire Public Radio is grateful to the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office for their persistence in pursuing Eric Spofford and his associates," NHPR President and CEO Jim Schachter said in a statement. "His attempt to silence NHPR's reporting on abuses of power in the addiction recovery industry failed, as should every attempt to snuff out press freedom." Trump says Musk is "not really leaving" as DOGE savings lag behind projections How a toddler's brave walk into the darkness to get help inspired his family California track and field final begins with new rules for transgender athletes
