UNITED STATES v. GINO DEMITRO a/k/a GINO DEMITRIO

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- GINO DEMITRO a/k/a GINO DEMITRIO, age 18, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Wilmington, Delaware pleaded guilty before Honorable Richard J. Arcara, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, to conveying false information, U.S. Attorney Terrance P. Flynn of the Western District of New York announced today. The charge carries a maximum penalty of ten (10) years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, or both.

Assistant U.S. Charles B. Wydysh, who handled the case, stated that the defendant made a telephone call to Southwest Airlines on July 25, 2008, advising that a certain woman would be carrying a bomb onto a plane destined for San Jose, California. The defendant then called USAir and repeated the threat. There was no bomb. As a result, MacArthur Airport on Long Island was closed down for five hours, three airplanes were evacuated and flights were delayed.

The plea was the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Laurie Bennett, Special Agent in Charge.

Sentencing is scheduled for December 2, 2008, at 1:00 p.m., in Buffalo, N.Y., in front of Chief Judge Arcara.