Source: United States Attorneys General
Headline: Hartford Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Threatening Judge, Lying to Federal Investigators
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DUSAN MLADEN, also known as David Mladen, 63, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer in New Haven to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for threatening a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge and lying to federal law enforcement officers investigating the crime. Judge Meyer also ordered MLADEN to pay a $20,000 fine.
According to court documents and statements made in court, MLADEN was a litigant in a proceeding pending before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of Connecticut, captioned In re: Eternal Enterprise, Inc. MLADEN formerly owned Eternal Enterprise, Inc., which owns several residential apartment properties in Hartford, and he had continued to be active in the management and decision making for the company while it was in bankruptcy.
On July 5, 2017, the judge presiding over the Eternal Enterprise matter discovered in the mailbox of her residence an anonymous handwritten note containing the phrases “BACK OFF,” “YOU ARE OVERSTEPPING AUTHORITY” and “JUST WARNING FOR NOW.”
On July 10, the judge received a phone call that had been placed to her home phone number. During the call, the caller stated that he had visited the judge’s house last week and “I left a message for you.” He said that he wanted her to file an order tomorrow “extending the deadline to September 30,” and “then maybe everything will be ok.” Although the caller refused to identify himself, the judge recognized the voice as MLADEN’s. The U.S. Marshals Service subsequently confirmed that the cell phone used to make the call was at a location in the vicinity of MLADEN’s residence, and that it had been purchased by MLADEN under a fictitious name.
On July 11, deputy U.S. Marshals interviewed MLADEN at his residence. During the conversation, MLADEN denied having gone to the judge’s house the previous week and having called the judge on July 10, and he stated that he did not have the judge’s phone number. Each of these statements was false. Pursuant to a court-authorized search of MLADEN’s car, the U.S. Marshals discovered that the judge’s home address was programmed into the defendant’s GPS unit.
The investigation also revealed that MLADEN had a gun with him when he delivered the threatening note to the judge’s home.
MLADEN has been detained since his arrest on July 11, 2017. On October 13, he pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to a federal law enforcement agent.
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service with the assistance of the Connecticut Department of Correction. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Nardini.