- Courtesy
- Rep. Mari Cordes (D-Bristol)
This post was updated on June 25, 2024, to include information from Sens. Chris Bray and Ruth Hardy, along with comment from Amanda Wheeler.
A Monkton man has been cited by police for allegedly leaving a threatening voicemail message for a member of the Vermont legislature.
Cyrus Marsano, 47, was issued two criminal citations on Thursday by Bristol police after an investigation into a voicemail message left for Rep. Mari Cordes (D-Bristol). Cordes, who recently moved to Bristol from Lincoln, received the voicemail message at 7:10 a.m. on Wednesday.
“You’re an enemy of the people of Vermont,” says the message, which she provided to Seven Days. “You should watch your back. You really should, because you’re not safe walking down the street, you dumb fucking cunt. I hope you die.”
Marsano is the vice president of a Monkton-based service company, Vermont Utility Management Services, which responds to water and wastewater problems in Bristol and other communities in northwestern Vermont. After Seven Days began making inquiries, on Thursday the town replaced his name on its website with that of his wife, who is the company’s president.
Bristol Police Chief Bruce Nason confirmed on Thursday that his agency had received a threat complaint and shared the information with Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos. Nason said she instructed the department to issue the citations. One is for criminal threatening, the other is for disturbing the peace by use of telephone or other electronic communications, both misdemeanors. Marsano must appear in Addison County Superior Court on July 22.
Vekos said she would have no comment until a case is filed in court.
Cordes said the message she received made her anxious. “I don’t feel safe anywhere,” she said. “I’m even more fearful now because I’ve reported it.”
Seven Days attempted to contact Marsano on Wednesday evening. His wife answered the phone and declined to comment.
Before police announced the charges, his lawyer, Robert Kaplan, denied to Seven Days that Marsano had threatened anyone. “Mr. Marsano is a private citizen who has made no threat to any person,” Kaplan wrote. He declined to discuss the details of the message or confirm Marsano had left it.
After police issued the citations, Kaplan issued an additional statement. “Mr. Marsano and I disagree with the State’s Attorney’s judgment that Mr. Marsano’s conduct was, in any way, criminal,” he wrote. “The issues raised in this matter are central to the preservation of democracy which depends on a forceful first amendment shield for political speech. Mr. Marsano and I will await his day in court and look forward to the exoneration of Mr. Marsano by a jury from his community.”
In a previous email, Kaplan wrote that politicians passing laws that are “bankrupting small business owners and the working class” should “expect to receive a tsunami of negative feedback from their constituents.”
"Irresponsible legislators have made themselves pariahs and should expect to be treated as such in the town square when coming face to face with their constituents whom they have harmed through slavish adherence to party-politics and a narcissistic view of their own place in the world,” Kaplan wrote.
Kaplan has represented high-profile clients arguing government overreach, including Daniel Banyai, owner of the former Pawlet weapons training facility Slate Ridge; and Franklin County Sheriff John Grismore, whom lawmakers considered impeaching for alleged misconduct but opted not to.
A Monkton man has been cited by police for allegedly leaving a threatening voicemail message for a member of the Vermont legislature.
Cyrus Marsano, 47, was issued two criminal citations on Thursday by Bristol police after an investigation into a voicemail message left for Rep. Mari Cordes (D-Bristol). Cordes, who recently moved to Bristol from Lincoln, received the voicemail message at 7:10 a.m. on Wednesday.
“You’re an enemy of the people of Vermont,” says the message, which she provided to Seven Days. “You should watch your back. You really should, because you’re not safe walking down the street, you dumb fucking cunt. I hope you die.”
Marsano is the vice president of a Monkton-based service company, Vermont Utility Management Services, which responds to water and wastewater problems in Bristol and other communities in northwestern Vermont. After Seven Days began making inquiries, on Thursday the town replaced his name on its website with that of his wife, who is the company’s president.
Bristol Police Chief Bruce Nason confirmed on Thursday that his agency had received a threat complaint and shared the information with Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos. Nason said she instructed the department to issue the citations. One is for criminal threatening, the other is for disturbing the peace by use of telephone or other electronic communications, both misdemeanors. Marsano must appear in Addison County Superior Court on July 22.
Vekos said she would have no comment until a case is filed in court.
Cordes said the message she received made her anxious. “I don’t feel safe anywhere,” she said. “I’m even more fearful now because I’ve reported it.”
Seven Days attempted to contact Marsano on Wednesday evening. His wife answered the phone and declined to comment.
Before police announced the charges, his lawyer, Robert Kaplan, denied to Seven Days that Marsano had threatened anyone. “Mr. Marsano is a private citizen who has made no threat to any person,” Kaplan wrote. He declined to discuss the details of the message or confirm Marsano had left it.
After police issued the citations, Kaplan issued an additional statement. “Mr. Marsano and I disagree with the State’s Attorney’s judgment that Mr. Marsano’s conduct was, in any way, criminal,” he wrote. “The issues raised in this matter are central to the preservation of democracy which depends on a forceful first amendment shield for political speech. Mr. Marsano and I will await his day in court and look forward to the exoneration of Mr. Marsano by a jury from his community.”
In a previous email, Kaplan wrote that politicians passing laws that are “bankrupting small business owners and the working class” should “expect to receive a tsunami of negative feedback from their constituents.”
"Irresponsible legislators have made themselves pariahs and should expect to be treated as such in the town square when coming face to face with their constituents whom they have harmed through slavish adherence to party-politics and a narcissistic view of their own place in the world,” Kaplan wrote.
Kaplan has represented high-profile clients arguing government overreach, including Daniel Banyai, owner of the former Pawlet weapons training facility Slate Ridge; and Franklin County Sheriff John Grismore, whom lawmakers considered impeaching for alleged misconduct but opted not to.
Since Seven Days publicized Cordes’ concerns, two Addison County senators, Chris Bray and Ruth Hardy, both Democrats, came forward to say they, too, reported to police messages they got from Marsano’s phone number. Neither of those calls had led to new charges, police said this week.
Cordes sent him a letter last week asking him to tone down such rhetoric. Bray said he, too, worries that Scott treating the legislature “like a punching bag” has signaled that others should do the same.
Scott’s spokesperson Amanda Wheeler said he “has always condemned violence and threats” and is grateful to Bristol police for investigating the matter. “The Governor has always set a standard for debate based on facts and civility,” she wrote, “and the people of Vermont know that.”
Hardy said she received a “menacing” message in April from a man who told her lawmakers are “insane” and “criminals” who should be jailed for raising taxes. “If I can’t live here, you’re not going to be able to live here,” the man said.
Last week, Vermont legislators overrode a veto by Gov. Phil Scott in order to pass a bill that will raise property taxes on average 13.8 percent. Scott, who has repeatedly blamed the legislature for not doing enough to limit the increases, characterized Democrats as arrogant and unwilling to compromise.
“You people are no
longer safe walking down the street," said Bray's message, in part. "You fucked up big-time, motherfucker.”
Cordes sent him a letter last week asking him to tone down such rhetoric. Bray said he, too, worries that Scott treating the legislature “like a punching bag” has signaled that others should do the same.
Scott’s spokesperson Amanda Wheeler said he “has always condemned violence and threats” and is grateful to Bristol police for investigating the matter. “The Governor has always set a standard for debate based on facts and civility,” she wrote, “and the people of Vermont know that.”
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