BREAKING NEWS | Fed grand jury indicts man in Betras bomb scare

CLEVELAND — A federal grand jury has indicted Charles J. Reighard, 67, of Burghill, on charges of mailing threatening communications to Atty. David Betras and threatening to damage or destroy Betras’ Canfield law office with an explosive.

The first count of the indictment alleges Reighard, a former client of Betras, sent letters to Betras between Sept. 4 and Oct. 17 with intent to extort money from him, which threatened to injure Betras and his family, the U.S. Attorney announced today.

One of the letters demanded $4 million, the FBI said.

The second count says that, on Oct. 16, Reighard falsely said Betras’ office would be damaged or destroyed by an explosive.

On that day, a law office employee found a second floor window broken and a device beneath it that turned out to be a pipe bomb minus the explosive.

Earlier this month, a U.S. magistrate ordered Reighard locked up without bond pending his trial.

For the complete story, read Thursday's Vindicator and Vindy.com