Chicago Man Indicted For Threatening Gates 21-Year-Old Accused Of Using Mail In An Extortion Attempt

A 21-year-old Chicago-area man has been charged with extortion, accused of mailing letters in which he threatened to kill Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates or his wife unless he was paid off.

Adam Quinn Pletcher, of Long Grove, Ill., was accused of mailing the four letters to Gates at Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters, Katrina Pflaumer, U.S. attorney for Western Washington, said Thursday.

The letter writer, who claimed to have killed people while in the military, demanded money from Gates and threatened to shoot him or his wife, Melinda, if money was not paid, court papers say.

“The writer cautioned Gates not to notify law enforcement and that if Gates did so, the writer could kill him with ‘one bullet from my rifle at a quarter of a mile away,’ ” the documents say.

Neither Gates nor his wife were harmed and the $5 million demand was not paid.

A federal grand jury in Seattle indicted Pletcher on an extortion charge Wednesday. He was arrested last Friday at his home after a seven-week investigation by the FBI.

Pletcher was released after posting $100,000 bail. Arraignment was scheduled May 22 in Seattle.

When FBI agents confronted him, the young man admitted writing and mailing the threatening letters, an FBI affidavit filed in federal court alleges.

The FBI described Pletcher as a loner and computer enthusiast who lives with his parents.

Gates was made aware of the threats but was not personally involved in the investigation, said Microsoft spokesman Mark Murray.

“This situation was handled in a fairly routine manner by Microsoft security working closely with law enforcement,” Murray said.

Although Gates and his company closely guard the privacy of his wife and the couple’s year-old daughter, the multi-billionaire lives a fairly public life without overt security. Gates and his wife, for instance, have been courtside regulars at Seattle SuperSonics home games during the NBA playoffs.

“The consensus among law enforcement is that at no time was Bill or his family or any Microsoft individual ever in any danger,” Murray said.

Conviction on the extortion count could mean a maximum punishment of 20 years in jail and a $250,000 fine.

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