Bail Denied in Threats to Skater : Prosecutors Say Westminster Man Also Harassed Governor

A Westminster man accused of sending threatening and obscene letters to Olympic champion ice skater Katarina Witt unsuccessfully argued before a federal magistrate Friday that he is “not a danger to anyone” and should be released on bail.

Harry Veltman III, who is representing himself, tried to persuade U.S. Magistrate Ronald W. Rose that he is not a flight risk because he said he is “a presidential candidate” with “a campaign to run.”

But Rose denied Veltman’s request to be freed on bail after prosecutors presented additional evidence that he wrote threatening letters not only to Witt but also to Gov. Pete Wilson and the commander of a Navy base in San Diego.

“He threatened to bomb them,” Assistant U.S. Atty. Wayne Gross said about the other letter targets.

Despite seemingly irrational behavior, Veltman, 47, was found competent to stand trial on three counts--one of allegedly sending an obscene letter through the mail and two of allegedly sending threatening letters. Each count carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.

FBI agents arrested Veltman on Dec. 26, the day before Witt was scheduled to appear at the Forum in Inglewood. According to court documents, Veltman has sent Witt 60 unsolicited letters since 1990, along with nude and erotic photos of himself.

In similar charges a year earlier, Veltman was arrested after throwing other sexually explicit letters on the ice while Witt skated before a Denver audience. He was never prosecuted in that case.

Veltman denied in court Friday that he wrote the letters to the governor and the Navy commander. “I never wrote this,” he said. “It isn’t my style. . . . It’s a total fabrication. . . . This is a conspiracy against me.”

Veltman did admit writing letters to Witt, but he said they were not intended to be threatening or obscene. “I was trying to get her to marry me,” he said.