MAN CONVICTED OF IMPERSONATING DEPUTY U.S. MARSHAL
BOSTON, Mass. - A former Dedham man pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of impersonating a Deputy United States Marshal.
ERIC WILLIAMS, 28, was convicted of seven counts of false personation of a federal officer, one count of theft of mail, and one count of possession of an official badge.
Had the case proceeded to trial, the government’s evidence would have proven that WILLIAMS met a Massachusetts woman in January on Craigslist and identified himself as a U.S. Marshal. He stayed with the woman and her roommate in Beverly for four days. During that time, WILLIAMS stole a blank check belonging to the roommate which he then used in used at Danversbank in Beverly. WILLIAMS, who obtained $600 in cash, displayed what appeared to be a U.S. Marshal’s badge as identification when making the transaction. WILLIAMS again claimed to be a Deputy Marshal to obtain the reduced government rate at a Norwood hotel in January.
Additionally, WILLIAMS stole an envelope containing Discover credit card checks from a mailbox in Walpole and negotiated two of them for a total of $5,100 in late 2010 or January 2011. Finally, WILLIAMS also possessed a number of other items in his guise as a Deputy Marshal, including blue lights, a U.S. Marshal Service parking placard, and a paintball gun that had the appearance of a real semi-automatic firearm.
WILLIAMS faces up to three years in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release and a $250,000 fine for each of the impersonating convictions; five years in prison to be followed by three years of supervision and a $250,000 fine for the theft of mail conviction; and six months in prison to be followed by one year of supervision and a $5,000 fine for possession of an official badge. Judge Saris set WILLIAMS’s sentencing hearing for September 22nd.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, U.S. Marshal John Gibbons of the United States Marshal Service for the District of Massachusetts, Chief Mark A. Ray of the Beverly Police Department, Norwood Police Chief Bartley E. King, Jr., Dedham Police Chief Michael D’Entremont and Walpole Police Chief Richard B. Stillman made the announcement today.
