Crime

Mass. man pleads guilty to threatening to murder and dismember interracial couple

Stephen DeBerardinis continued to threaten the couple after they told him they would report the incident to the police.

Jenny Kane

By Emily Spatz

2 minutes to read

A man pleaded guilty on multiple charges Wednesday after he sent an interracial couple several hateful messages over Facebook in 2021, including threats to burn them alive and dismember them, prosecutors said.

Stephen M. DeBerardinis, 46, of Boston and Dedham, pleaded guilty to three counts relating to transmitting threats to injure a person and tampering with witnesses and victims by intimidation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a press release Wednesday. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in September, 2021, according to the release.

In late 2020, DeBerardinis sent a series of “threatening and harassing” messages to a couple, a white woman and a Black man, who posted their engagement photos on Facebook. Though he didn’t know the couple personally, he could view the photos because the two parties had a mutual friend connection, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. 

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DeBerardinis then sent the couple messages over Facebook Messenger on Jan. 6, 2021, harassing the couple with slurs and threats, they said.

“When the couple messaged DeBerardinis that they were reporting him to law enforcement, he sent them a message that said, ‘SNITCHES GET STITCHES’ with a picture of brass knuckles,” the press release said. “DeBerardinis also threatened, ‘Read up more on me lol… you will se how me and my crew burn n*****s alive,’ and ‘And white whores like you well [sic] get rape and killed THAN [sic] we cut off body parts and mail them to your family lol.’”

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The couple reported DeBerardinis’ messages to local police, who got in touch with federal authorities, officials said.

“You can’t just threaten people online with racially motivated, violent physical harm and not face repercussions,” said Jodi Cohen, special agent in charge of the FBI, Boston Division, in a statement. “What Stephen DeBerardinis put this couple through is despicable.”

DeBerardinis faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the charge of transmitting in interstate commerce threats to injure a person; 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for tampering with a witness and victim by intimidation, threats, and corrupt persuasion; and three years in prison and a fine of $250,000 fine for tampering with a witness and victim by harassment. 

Sentencing for DeBerardinis is scheduled for June 10. 

“This case demonstrates that you cannot cowardly hide behind a keyboard and spread bigotry, intimidation, and fear,” U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy said in a statement. “The spike we have all witnessed in hate-motivated threats of violence will not be tolerated, and our office remains steadfast in our commitment to aggressively pursue threats and acts of hate that are motivated by racism or bigotry.”

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