LANCASTER : Inmate Enters Plea in Extortion Case
A former Lancaster man has entered a no contest plea to attempting to extort millions of dollars from prominent Antelope Valley residents by threatening to reveal embarrassing information about them.
Gregory J. Riddle, 42, who already is in state prison in Chino for violating his parole in another case, faces up to eight months additional prison time when he is sentenced Sept. 14, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Foltz.
Riddle entered his plea, the legal equivalent of a guilty plea, Friday in Lancaster Superior Court.
Foltz said that none of the five recipients of the threatening letters mailed by Riddle between December and February made any payments.
The letters, written by hand and signed by a “J. Robinson,” threatened to reveal politically “explosive and damaging” information unless the recipients paid.
Foltz said investigators were convinced that Riddle had no damaging information but was merely copying the methods used by two other men who were convicted in 1990.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
