Man charged with sending bogus warning about mass-murder threat against South Boston school

A Brazilian national living in Quincy was arrested yesterday on charges related to what turned out to be a bogus letter sent to federal immigration officials warning of an imminent attack against a school in South Boston, the US Attorney's office reports.

According to an indictment by a federal grand jury, Clebio De Lima, 43, sent a letter to the Customs and Immigration Service office in Boston that stated a man named "Mario" was planning to slaughter children:

He is preparing a large attack at a school here in Massachusetts. He will go to a school here in South Boston and open fire on all of the children; he has already purchased two firearms, automatic pistols and is looking to purchase more. He asked me to help him with this and said he would pay me 3,000 dollars to just drive him there and wait for him to flee after the attack. He just married a U.S. citizen and paid 15,000 dollars. He said he would get American documents to purchase more firearms and go through with his plan.

Only there was no Mario, prosecutors said:

Following an investigation, it was determined that the allegations in the letter were false. During an interview with agents in September 2018, De Lima falsely denied any knowledge about the unsigned letter sent to USCIS.

The indictment does not name the specific school.

De Lima was formally charged with two counts of making false statements to federal authorities. De Lima, who is in the country illegally, according to the US Attorney's office, faces a prison term of up to five years and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted.

Innocent, etc.