NY woman sentenced for threats to Mass. officials

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - A New York state woman has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for sending threatening letters containing harmless white powder to officials in Massachusetts.

Federal prosecutors said 57-year-old Roberta Cicora of St. Johnsville, N.Y., was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Springfield to 27 months in prison. U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor also ordered her to pay $4,630 to Massachusetts for hazardous materials response costs.

She pleaded guilty in September to mailing four threatening communications. Two of the letters went to the offices of then-U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and state Attorney General Martha Coakley. The others were sent to the district court and Franklin County House of Correction in Greenfield.

Prosecutors said the letters sent in May 2011 led authorities to temporarily close the offices that received them.