Man Jailed in Threat Against Times Writer

A West Los Angeles man was charged Wednesday with threatening a Los Angeles Times reporter working on a story about an alleged Mafia extortion plot against actor Steven Seagal.

Alexander Proctor, 58, was being held without bail in a downtown federal detention center after he was arrested outside his home.

Proctor, authorities allege, broke the reporter’s car window and left a package containing a dead fish with a long-stemmed rose in its mouth.

A cardboard placard with the word “STOP” was affixed to her car, parked near her Los Angeles home, according to the indictment by a federal grand jury.

The threats, authorities allege, were meant to intimidate Anita M. Busch in an effort to stop her from reporting the story.

“The only word he used was stop,” said Assistant U.S. Atty. Daniel Saunders, the lead prosecutor. “I think it’s pretty clear.”

The incident occurred in June, a few weeks into Busch’s reporting. The Times published several stories that month about the arrest of Seagal’s former partner for his alleged role in a multimillion-dollar extortion scheme against the actor by the Gambino crime family.

A second reporter on the Seagal story, the author of a Vanity Fair article, told police he was threatened at gunpoint outside his Los Angeles home in late August.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Bosley did not rule out the possibility of more arrests.

David Garcia, a spokesman for The Times, said the newspaper is “very pleased with the announcement of today’s arrest. The safety of our reporter has always been our greatest concern.”

Prosecutors described Proctor as an ex-convict with burglary and narcotics-related convictions. The organized-crime units of the FBI and Los Angeles Police Department are continuing to investigate.

Proctor, wearing wire-rim glasses and a black sweater, listened attentively as he was denied bail by U.S. Magistrate Ralph Zarefsky. The judge cited Proctor’s criminal record and the nature of the threats.

Proctor is scheduled to be arraigned Monday morning. His attorney, Victor Cannon, was not available for comment. If convicted of violating the statute -- interference with commerce by threats of violence -- he could be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison.