A 61-year-old Florida woman pleaded guilty to mailing threatening letters and suspicious powder to school administrators throughout Florida, according to a statement from the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Former elementary school teacher, Maria Bassi Lauro admitted to mailing suspicious white powder to employees from four elementary schools located in Central Florida that she had been terminated from for “poor performance,” according to the DOJ statement.
Lauro had mailed the first package to an administrator at Citrus Ridge Academy in Davenport, Florida, with white powder and a message that read, “Your punishment for being a fat, ugly asshole,” around Aug. 13, 2018. The second package was sent to another administrator at Groveland Elementary School with white powder and a similar message around Sept. 24, 2018, the Daily Wire reported.
A third mailing was sent to a teacher at Four Corners Charter School in Davenport containing the white powder and verbatim message around Sept. 28, 2018. The last mailing, which contained blue powder and a blank piece of paper, was sent to an administrator at Laurel Elementary School in Poinciana around Dec. 12, 2018, according to the plea agreement.
Ex-Teacher Pleads Guilty After Mailing White Powder Threats To Elementary School Staffers https://t.co/jb6NXRCPfG pic.twitter.com/EG7TfNPfCK
— The Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) March 26, 2021
Each of these school officials had reportedly “played a role in her performance review at and/or her terminations,” according to the DOJ statement. (RELATED: ‘Home Improvement’ Star Zachery Ty Bryan Pleads Guilty To Charges After Allegedly Choking Girlfriend)
Law enforcement and HAZMAT-trained specialists from the FBI discovered that the white powder was baking soda. In September 2019, Lauro was officially charged with six counts of sending out threatening messages and perpetuating fake information, according to another DOJ statement.