Akron Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Threatening to Kill a Man for Drugs and Money

AKRON, OH - An Akron man was sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison for threatening a man with death unless he was given money or introduced to a source with drugs, said Carole S. Rendon, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cleveland office.

Franklin Conley and Patrick Griffin repeatedly threatened the victim and his family, beginning in February 2015, with serious physical harm or death if they were not given money or introduced to a source of illegal drugs, according to court documents and trial testimony.

Griffin, 29, also of Akron, has pleaded guilty to his role in the crime.

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The matter was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Teresa Riley and Robert Bulford.

Conley, 28, was convicted earlier this year of one count of violating the Hobbs Act (which prohibits extortion), three counts of use of a communication facility to facilitate a drug offense and one count of interstate communication with intent to extort. He was sentenced to 115 months in prison.

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