N.J. teen sentenced in bomb scare case

BANGOR – A New Jersey teen was sentenced Wednesday in Millinocket District Court to five days in a youth correctional facility in connection with a bomb threat he called in to Stearns High School in May.

William Cassio, 16, of Woodbridge Township, N.J., on Wednesday admitted to a Class C felony charge of terrorizing, according to Penobscot County District Attorney R. Christopher Almy.

District Court Judge Kevin Stitham sentenced Cassio to five days in Mountain View Youth Development Center in Charleston, a secure correctional facility for youths. Cassio then will be sent to New Jersey, where he is on probation in Middlesex County for an aggravated assault conviction, Almy said.

As an adult, Cassio could have received up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000 on the felony charge.

Cassio admitted to calling Millinocket school officials from New Jersey on May 8 and saying the schools would be blown up, Almy said.

A court-appointed attorney, Nolan Tanous of East Millinocket, represented Cassio.

According to previous Bangor Daily News stories, the call was traced to a cell phone in Woodbridge Township, N.J. A New Jersey detective told Millinocket police Detective Ron McCarthy he had received a full confession from Cassio, and sent McCarthy a copy of the confession on a computer disk.

The threat caused school officials to evacuate the town’s schools, send students and teachers to a nearby safe building and dismiss classes and school activities for the day. No explosive devices were found, according to earlier stories.