Parsippany SWATting indicative of growing problem

Parsippany police are investigating a “SWATting” that drew police from two towns who responded after a caller to 911 reported a man with a gun at an Iroquois Avenue home.

Sswatting is a prank where someone makes a hoax 911 call while disguising their phone number and its origin, drawing police and often heavily armed SWAT officers to the location of a made-up emergency.

“This is a demented, evil act that puts people at risk of significant injury or death,” said Assemblyman Paul Moriarty (D-Gloucester), who introduced an anti-swatting bill in November, “not to mention that these types of activities divert police to take fake calls to incidents that don’t exist.”

Four Parsippany police officers plus additional officers from the Boonton Twp. Police Department responded on Sunday at 2:28 a.m. to the 911 call reporting a man with a gun.

The officers arrived at the home, spoke to the woman who owns the home, and checked it to make sure there was no one with a gun inside or around the home, police said.

No suspects were found and the ensuing investigation revealed that this was a SWATting incident, police said. The determination was made after investigators could not make contact with anyone when they called the phone number from which 911 was called.

Swatting suspects face a wide range of penalties for creating a false public alarm, depending on the situation: anywhere from 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine for a fourth-degree charge, to three to five years in prison and a $15,000 fine for a third-degree charge, to five to 10 years in prison and a $150,000 fine for a second-degree charge.

Public officials say few are held accountable because callers are out of state or even outside of the country. Those who are arrested tend to be teenagers and first-time offenders who are enrolled in pre-trial intervention and avoid trial — or a criminal record.

Nabbing the hoaxers is tough, but not impossible. Federal agents arrested Matthew Tollis, 21, of Wethersfield, Conn., in September on charges that he was part of an international ring of online gamers swatting schools in New Jersey and five other states, including St. John Vianney High School in Holmdel.

Tollis was charged with conspiring to engage in a bomb-threat hoax, aiding and abetting a bomb threat hoax, and aiding and abetting the malicious conveying of false information about attempts to kill or harm individuals or destroy buildings, they said. Each carries up to five years in prison.

“Tracking down the suspects is often challenging, but is frequently possible by law enforcement,” said Stacey Wright, manager of the Security Operations Center at the Center for Internet Security in New York, “and there have been multiple arrests of SWATters, including serial SWATters responsible for a large number of calls.”

Swatting is an ill that surfaced from the digital revolution. Authorities and cyber security experts say it goes back to 2008, possibly before that. It became more common within the gaming community, particularly those live-streaming their games. A sore loser might resort to swatting to retaliate against another player in a game.

Tollis told authorities he got involved with the gaming ring because he was bullied online and had several unsolicited pizza deliveries to his home, according to an affidavit filed by an unnamed FBI agent.

“In the past, if you wanted to get back at someone or pull a prank, you might have ordered a dozen pizzas and had them sent to that person’s house,” said Wright, a cyber security expert. “SWATing is a 21st-century version of retaliation, only much more dangerous.”

Assemblyman Moriarty’s bill to increase penalties for swatting calls for suspects to be charged with false public alarm in the second degree, which carries five to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $150,000, if convicted.

But Moriarty has faced backlash. On April 11, Moriarty was “swatted” in his Washington Township, Gloucester County home. Police received a 911 call April 11 from a stranger saying he shot someone at an address matching Moriarty’s and would hurt police if they showed up, Chief Rafael Muniz said.

Moriarty stepped outside and saw several officers with helmets and rifles. “That’s when I knew I had been swatted,” Moriarty said.

State Sen. Jennifer Beck, R-Monmouth, is drafting a bill with different penalties for hoaxers. She considers second-degree charges, with prison time for most offenders, too severe for crimes that tend to be associated with teen pranksters who are first-time offenders.

“We’re talking about younger people, gamers oftentimes, and that seems to be a very stiff penalty,” Beck said.

Instead, she suggests that swatting suspects get charged with false public alarm in the third degree, but also face a mandatory minimum penalty: a 30-day jail sentence, 200 hours of community service and heavy fines — even for those eligible for pre-trial intervention.

Gannett New Jersey reporter Steph Solis contributed to this report.