Greece Man Pleads Guilty To Lying To The FBI

ROCHESTER, N.Y.—U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Thomas Alonzo Bolin, a/k/a Peter Vincent, 22, of Greece, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer to making a false statement to the FBI. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett A. Harvey, who is handling the case, stated that the FBI began investigating the defendant and others in March 2019 for potential violations of federal civil rights and firearms laws. On March 15, 2019, a Facebook user named “Ragnar Odinson” – who was a member of a Facebook group called “Odin’s Warriors” – made statements on Facebook referencing the mosque attacks that occurred in Christchurch, New Zealand, and indicated that he was willing to “do something” the following week. The defendant was a member of and administrator for the “Odin’s Warriors” Facebook group.  The defendant used Facebook – under the user name “Peter Vincent” – to post messages consistent with white supremacist ideology, statements threatening violence against Muslims and others, and messages containing derogatory terms for Muslims and other minority groups.

On March 30, 2019, members of the FBI, as part of their investigation, interviewed the defendant. During the interview, Bolin falsely stated that he did not possess any firearms in New York State. At the time of the statement, the defendant knew that he possessed a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun in his bedroom closet at 34 Third Avenue in Greece. This false statement was material to the FBI’s investigation of possible civil rights and firearms violations by Bolin and others. The FBI recovered the shotgun during a subsequent search of the defendant’s bedroom closet.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 13, 2019, before Judge Larimer.