Mark Tucci, Violent Threats, Racist Harassment, Pennsylvania 2024

Mark Tucci, 44, of Philadelphia, PA, pleaded guilty to multiple charges arising from racist, violent threats made by phone, email, text message, and in person.

According to court documents, Tucci repeatedly called and sent text messages and emails that consisted of racial epithets and violent threats to harm an employee of an agency of the City of Philadelphia and their colleagues. Between April 18, 2024, and June 2, 2024, Tucci emailed the employee multiple times regarding a records request he had made to the agency. This escalated on June 3, 2024, when he repeatedly called the agency, and during two of those calls, he spoke with the employee, identified himself by name, and screamed at them, causing the employee to hang up each time.

During subsequent calls on June 3 with the agency, Tucci spoke with two of the employee's colleagues, using racial epithets and making threats. Specifically, the defendant said that he was going to come down to the agency the next day and hurt everyone, and that he had the employee's home address and was going to hurt them.

Tucci also sent multiple emails to the employee the same day, using similar racial epithets and threats. He also texted the employee on their personal cell phone, a phone number that the employee had never provided to the defendant. The text messages from Tucci to the employee mentioned the employee by name, and the name of the street on which the employee resided at the time. The messages included a warning that 'This is personal now,' and additional threatening language.

Tucci's communications caused the employee severe emotional distress, and fear that Tucci would find them and seriously injure or kill them or their family members.

Tucci willfully intimidated and interfered, and attempted to intimidate and interfere, with the employee because of their race and color, and because they were enjoying employment by, and all perquisites of, an agency of the City of Philadelphia, a subdivision of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Additionally, on the morning of February 1, 2024, Tucci pulled up next to another car in heavy traffic on I-95 southbound, lowered his windows, and repeatedly screamed racial epithets and threats to kill and shoot the other car's driver, who is African American. Tucci then reached down into his car, pulled out a glass mug containing coffee, and threw it at the victim's vehicle, terrifying them and damaging their car.

Tucci pleaded guilty to one count each of a threat to use a dangerous weapon, interfering with federally protected activities, cyberstalking, interstate communication of threats, and threats interfering with federally protected activities. He will be sentenced in December 2025 and faces a maximum penalty of 21 years in prison.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Philadelphia Police Department.

Mandatory Facts: Defendant/Respondent: Mark Tucci, Exact Criminal Charges: Threat to use a dangerous weapon, Interfering with federally protected activities, Cyberstalking, Interstate communication of threats, Threats interfering with federally protected activities, City and State: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Exact Date: January 2024, Sentence or Outcome: 21 years in prison, Date: December 2025.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/philadelphia-man-pleads-guilty-violent-threats-cyberstalking-civil-rights-violations