A Broome County resident faces up to five years in prison after he admitted making threats to harm Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Federal authorities said 51-year-old Joseph Francis Morelli of Endicott pled guilty Wednesday to leaving threatening messages to the voicemail of a Washington, DC office of a member of Congress.

A large contingent of law enforcement officers including the FBI executed a pre-dawn raid on Morelli's Oak Hill Avenue apartment last March 17. Armored vehicles had staged in a Watson Boulevard parking lot about an hour before heading to the building several blocks away.

Federal agents found Joseph Morelli in this apartment house on Endicott's North Side on March 17, 2022. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
Federal agents found Joseph Morelli in this apartment house on Endicott's North Side on March 17, 2022. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
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Morelli was taken into custody without incident. He had been accused of transmitting interstate threatening communications.

According to an affidavit, Morelli left seven threatening messages at Taylor Greene's DC congressional office on March 3 and March 4 of last year.

In one, Morelli allegedly identified himself and provided his phone number. He then said: "You've got a big f---ing mouth, and I'm gonna show you what violence is really about."

In a recording, the man who said he was Morelli sated he could "pay someone 500 bucks to take a baseball bat and crack your skull." He added: "You are going to get f---ing physically hurt."

In a previous voicemail, the caller stated: "I just don't think I can go on letting you, you know, cause hatred and poison to people."

In an earlier voicemail, the caller said "I just don't think I can go on letting you, you know, cause hatred and poison to people."

Taylor Greene is a Republican who represents Georgia's 14th Congressional District. Her statements on a wide range of issues have made her one of the most controversial members of the House of Representatives.

As part of his guilty plea, Morelli admitted placing a series of threatening phone calls to Taylor Greene's office.

A mailbox outside Joseph Morelli's Oak Hill Avenue residence. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
A mailbox outside Joseph Morelli's Oak Hill Avenue residence. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
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After Morelli's arrest, people who knew him said they were surprised to learn he had been accused of threatening Taylor Greene.

Morelli is scheduled to be sentenced on June 1. In addition to a five-year prison term, he could be fined up to $250,000.

READ the March 2022 criminal complaint against Joseph Francis Morelli HERE

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.

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