A federal judge has ordered Derrick Anthony Callella, who pleaded guilty to sending phony ransom messages to the family of missing Arizona woman Nancy Guthrie, to undergo inpatient substance abuse treatment while awaiting sentencing. The sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 10.
Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing from her home near Tucson on Feb. 1. The following day, local media outlets received ransom demands that investigators were examining as potentially legitimate.
Callella, 42, was arrested days after Guthrie's disappearance. The FBI determined he had sent fraudulent ransom messages to members of her family. However, federal investigators have stated that Callella was not responsible for an earlier ransom demand sent to local media, which remains under investigation as authorities continue to probe Guthrie's disappearance as a kidnapping-for-ransom case.
According to the plea agreement, Callella admitted to sending spoofed ransom messages from a spoofed phone number to Guthrie's daughter, Annie Guthrie, and son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni. The messages inquired, "Did you get the bitcoin? We're waiting on our end for the transaction[.]" Prosecutors said Callella later made a brief phone call to a family member seeking information about the investigation.
Investigators traced the spoofed Voice over Internet Protocol account used to send the messages to an email address registered to Callella. After waiving his Miranda rights, Callella admitted using the account to send the texts. He told investigators he obtained the family's contact information from a website while following television coverage of Guthrie's disappearance and wanted to see if the family would respond.
Callella pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment using a telecommunications device. He faces up to two years in prison on each count, fines of up to $250,000 per count, and up to one year of supervised release.
The amended release conditions require Callella to reside at an inpatient substance use treatment facility or halfway house, comply with all program requirements, and contribute toward the cost of treatment as directed by the U.S. Pretrial Services Division. The order authorizes the U.S. Marshals Service to place Callella in temporary custody if he fails to comply with treatment requirements. Upon completing the program, he may reside at a home approved by the U.S. Pretrial Services Division.