2 Sentenced for Sending Pay-or-Die Letters

Two former aerospace technicians were sentenced Friday to four years each in state prison for sending hundreds of threatening letters to prominent Antelope Valley residents. The sentence makes them eligible for parole before summer.

Prosecutors urged San Fernando Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Coen to sentence Roman S. Makuch, 28, and Richard M. Faroni, 27, to eight years each--the maximum under their interpretation of the law. But the judge said California case law restricted him to handing down four-year terms, which he called inadequate considering the crime and the number of victims.

In November, 1988, Makuch and Faroni sent at least 267 “pay-or-die” letters to professionals, business people and political leaders. The letters threatened the lives of victims and their families, often providing details that indicated the recipients had been watched.