ST. LOUIS (CN) - The co-founder of Savvis Communications will stay in jail until his trial on extortion charges, a federal judge ruled, finding that he poses a danger to the community. The 45-year-old Andrew Gladney allegedly tried to extort $100,000 from his brother-in-law in Virginia with violent threats over the telephone and by email.
Judge E. Richard Webber's decision was based on several letters Gladney wrote to his family and brother-in-law since his December arrest.
"These letters ask for money; the letters are harassing and are accusatory," Judge Webber wrote. "These letters mirror the crimes with which the defendant has been charged."
Gladney could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He allegedly threatened to release false information to his victim's employer if he didn't give him the $100,000. Prosecutors say Gladney has a history of violent behavior. In a hearing, prosecutors claimed a phone-sex operator in Las Vegas told investigators that Gladney told her his sexually deviant fantasies that include rape and murder; that he was convicted of distribution of a controlled substance and disturbing the peace at an athletic event; and that in 2001 he was charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman, but those charges were dropped.
Gladney co-founded the company that would become Savvis in 1995 and stepped down as chairman and chief executive in 1997.
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