Man Gets 2 Years for Bomb Threats to Wilson Party

A 64-year-old San Diego man who phoned in a bomb threat to the San Diego Convention Center inaugural party for Gov. Pete Wilson was sentenced Monday to two years in state prison.

Richard Charles Mauzay was sentenced by San Diego Municipal Judge John Thompson, who denied him probation.

Mauzay, who made his threats by calling 911, was charged with four counts of making false bomb threats and threatening the life of Gov. Pete Wilson on Jan. 7.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Dave Lattuca said Mauzay threatened to put a bomb in the Convention Center, where Wilson had a hometown inaugural party.

In his calls, Mauzay said the governor would receive “a surprise” at the Convention Center. However, Mauzay “had none of the materials” to make a bomb, said Lattuca, even though Mauzay told 911 operators some technical terms to indicate that he was familiar with explosives.

Mauzay also made bomb threats toward some private businesses. Lattuca said he did not know the motive behind the threats, but the tape recordings of the 911 tapes indicate Mauzay may have been drinking.

According to court records, he was convicted in 1989 of making a false bomb threat.

Mauzay pleaded guilty to making a false bomb threat in May. The judge sent him for a 90-day diagnostic study at Chino State Prison. Thompson said Monday that prison officials recommended that Mauzay be sent to prison instead of being granted probation.

The judge fined Mauzay $100 and gave him credit for the eight months he has already spent in custody.

Thompson also ruled that Mauzay violated his probation in the 1989 case, but gave him a concurrent sentence.