Beginning in February, a San Francisco man made at least 48 threatening, obscene and harassing phone calls to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over her support for a healthcare reform bill, according to federal court records unsealed Thursday.
Gregory Lee Giusti, 48, was charged in federal court Thursday in San Francisco with making harassing phone calls to a government official.
He appeared before Magistrate Judge Bernard Zimmerman in a gray T-shirt and khakis, looking disheveled, according to the Associated Press. Zimmerman said Giusti may have a bipolar disorder and should be treated.
An amended criminal complaint, along with a supporting affidavit by an FBI agent, allege that Giusti made many of the calls to Pelosi’s homes in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. He is charged with using a VOIP, or voice over Internet provider service, to make calls using a non-San Francisco area code, the records show.
Nine calls made to Pelosi’s Washington residence were recorded, according to the court records, which contain excerpts of some of the messages that warned the congresswoman not to act on the bill.
"If you pass this freaking healthcare plan don’t bother coming back to California cause you ain’t gonna have a place to live," Giusti said on March 25, according to the court records.
Zimmerman told the U.S. attorney’s office to interview Giusti to determine if he was mentally competent enough to be released to a halfway house or if he should continue to be detained, the AP reported. A detention hearing was scheduled for Monday.
–Robert J. Lopez
Photo: Gregory Lee Giusti. Credit: Associated Press/San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department