More saving, more doing — less ransom!
Feds busted a Home Depot employee and charged him with threatening to bomb several of his chain’s stores in Long Island if he wasn’t paid $2 million — although he eventually offered a $1 million discount on the ransom demand, authorities said yesterday.
Daniel Sheehan, of Deer Park, LI, who was picked up late Wednesday night, made his initial appearance in Central Islip federal court yesterday, where he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.
Sheehan, with his young son in the gallery, made a series of odd, potentially incriminating statements to the judge, courtroom sources said, even allegedly admitting he planted a bomb but saying it was fake and that he never had plans to hurt anyone.
Sheehan, 50, who worked for his local Home Depot, was ordered held without bail.
His attorney, Tracey Gaffey, said the defense would seek bail at the next court date, citing Sheehan’s “long-standing” and “deep roots” in the community.
An anxious Sheehan spoke out of turn at several points during his brief hearing, telling the judge he’s not dangerous.
Prosecutors begged to differ and vowed to get a conviction. Sheehan was charged with extortion and faces up to 30 years in prison.
“Sheehan put lives at risk and tried to hold the people of Long Island hostage to his extortionate demands,” said US Attorney Loretta Lynch.
He allegedly mailed a threatening letter to Home Depot in Huntington Station in mid-October, demanding $2 million or he’d set off explosions at three different Long Island stores on Black Friday — the retail world’s big day after Thanksgiving.
The bombs would each be filled with a pound of roofing nails and planted at the massive hardware mega-store — whose slogan is “More Saving. More Doing” — Sheehan allegedly threatened.
The defendant allegedly planted a pipe bomb in the lighting section of the Huntington Station store, just to show he meant business. The bomb was found on Oct. 15 and detonated with no injuries.
In another letter on Oct. 22, Sheehan lowered his demand to $1 million and asked to be paid by Oct. 26, according to a federal criminal complaint.
“There is no bargaining to be had with human life, and the only payout Sheehan will receive will be the full measure of justice for his actions,” Lynch said.
Sheehan allegedly reiterated ransom demands in calls made with a prepaid cellphone — traced by feds, leading to his arrest.
Even if Sheehan’s plot never came close to any actually harm, authorities said the pursuit and capture of him cost valuable time and resources.
“The scheme caused economic loss, was a huge drain on law enforcement resources, and threatened the safety of untold numbers of innocent people, any one of which is unacceptable,” said Mary Galligan, acting assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office.