Three Ohio residents have been charged with assaulting a central New York prison guard who was burned by an exploding package left at his mailbox, police said Wednesday.
Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol said the May 29 attack was intended to stop the 53-year-old victim from reporting an elder care scam against his mother in Ohio. Maciol said it wasn't related to Alan Dobransky's work as a state corrections officer at the Marcy Correctional Facility.
The sheriff said Dobransky suspected one of the accused, 58-year-old Cindy Shields of Conneaut, Ohio, stole money from his mother when she was the elderly woman's caretaker for four years.
Also charged were 58-year-old Keith Seppi and his wife, 63-year-old Donna Seppi, also Conneaut residents. Police said Keith Seppi is Shields' brother-in-law. The three were arrested Tuesday at their homes in Ohio and charged with first-degree assault.
All three are in Oneida County Sheriff's Office custody. It couldn't be determined if they have lawyers to comment for them.
Dobransky remains hospitalized in critical condition with burns over 50 percent of his body.
