WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Jealousy apparently drove a Yonkers man to suggest his former roommate was plotting to kill President Obama during the president's late-August visit to Westchester County, according to federal authorities.
The saga started Aug. 29, when the president came to Westchester for back-to-back fundraisers.
A man called 911 and reported that an acquaintance who lived in New Haven, Conn., was traveling to New York with two assault rifles intending to kill the president.
Dozens of federal agents and other law enforcement agencies scrambled to find that person, visiting his home, interviewing neighbors and finally locating him in nearby Hamden.
He told them he believed a person named Juan, a friend of his girlfriend, likely was responsible for the 911 call.
That led investigators to Juan Medina.
Twice last month — once when Secret Service agents found Medina at the girlfriend's home and again during an interview — Medina, 31, told federal agents he did not make the call.
But after failing a lie-detector test during a second interview, according to court papers, Medina admitted he was the culprit, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.
Bharara said Medina made the allegation because he didn't approve of the relationship between the Connecticut man — his former roommate — and the woman. Medina described her as his girlfriend, though she told officials otherwise.
Medina was charged Wednesday with one count of making false statements to federal authorities.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison. Medina was released on $25,000 bail.
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