A federal jury in Bridgeport has convicted Mandel Bidone, 34, formerly of Bridgeport, of mailing a threatening communication. The announcement was made by David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Evidence presented at trial showed that in April 2022, while incarcerated in state custody, Bidone filed a civil complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut against “Yale New Haven Inc.” and other defendants. He alleged he had undergone an illegal clinical trial administered by Yale University and sought compensatory and punitive damages. The court dismissed his complaint as frivolous in October 2022.
In March 2023, Bidone mailed another civil complaint to the U.S. District Court’s Clerk’s Office in New Haven. This handwritten complaint was separated into eight envelopes and repeated many allegations from his first filing. However, it also included threats: “If the District Court dismisses this case or looses (sic) any one of the pages of this complaint, Mandel Bidone will purchase an illegal firearm and discharge it on Yale’s campus aiming for the students and staff until his is gunned down.”
Investigators found that Bidone sent similar letters to the City of New Haven, the New Haven Police Department, and a local news affiliate repeating his threat against Yale students and faculty.
“The charge of mailing a threatening communication carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years. Bidone is detained pending sentencing, which is not scheduled,” according to Sullivan.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service with help from the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, Yale Police Department, and New Haven Police Department.
