The former CEO of the former Granite Recovery Centers, a network of drug and alcohol treatment centers in New Hampshire, was arrested Friday on suspicion of planning conspiracy to track journalists, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Eric Spofford, 40, is accused of targeting journalists hired by New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) in retaliation for an investigation that allegedly revealed multiple charges of sexual misconduct against him when he was the CEO of the rehabilitation center. Spofford opened a granite recovery center after his battle with heroin addiction and turned the business into New Hampshire's largest addiction treatment network.
Officials said the NHPR article attracted attention and attracted attention from local and national media. Spofold publicly denied the allegations and later sued public radio for defamation. He claimed that public radio made a "hit" against him. He said in the complaint that financial institutions refused to do business with him due to the investigation, and the supplier suddenly resigned from working with his company and was out of reach with working with New Hampshire politicians.
He said in court documents that he felt uncomfortable in his hometown after the investigation was published.
A New Hampshire judge dismissed Spofton's lawsuit in 2023.
The Justice Department said Spofod had a plan that starts around March 2022 and continues until at least May 2022 to harass and intimidate journalists who wrote the article, the journalist’s immediate family, and senior editors of response and retaliation to station reports.
He allegedly hired his close friend Eric Labarge to destroy and spray the victim's house with large stones and bricks, lustful and threatening language.
According to WBUR Radio, "Just Just The Onter" was sprayed in the reporter's home.
Spofod allegedly paid Labarge $20,000 in cash, giving him the victims’ addresses and instructions on how to harass them. Labarge, in turn, hired Tucker Cockerline, Keenan Saniatan and Michael Waselchuck for stalking.
Labarge, Cockerline, Saniatan and Waselchuck were charged, convicted and sentenced for participating in the harassment campaign.
Spofold said he sold a nine-digit granite restoration center in 2021. CBS News reached out to Spoford to comment on his arrest.
He is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on Monday.
New Hampshire Public Radio said they thank the Justice Department for filing the lawsuit.
"Everyone at NHP Public Radio thanked the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office for their insistence on pursuing Eric Spofford and his associates," NHPR president and CEO Jim Schachter said in a statement. "He tried to silence NHPR's coverage of abuse of power in the addiction recovery industry failed, every attempt to eliminate press freedom."