Enveloped in Conflict: Man gets heat for comments mailed with LIPA payment

This month, like every month, Kip Kohn paid the Long Island Power Authority bill for his Oakdale sporting goods store.

And like most months, he stuffed a plain, brown envelope with the bill, a check and a wad of LIPA newspaper ads on which he had scrawled "Stop wasting our money!"

And, as usual, he completed the package by printing "LIPA sucks" on the front of the bulky envelope.

Everything was normal until Tuesday night, when a Nassau County police detective called Kohn at his Central Islip home and asked him to appear at the Eighth Precinct station house the next evening to face a charge of misdemeanor aggravated harassment.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lilipa1017,0,737138.story for full article.

S 240.30 Aggravated harassment in the second degree.

A person is guilty of aggravated harassment in the second degree when, with intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm another person, he or she:

1. Either (a) communicates with a person, anonymously or otherwise, by telephone, or by telegraph, mail or any other form of written communication, in a manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm; or
(b) causes a communication to be initiated by mechanical or electronic means or otherwise with a person, anonymously or otherwise, by telephone, or by telegraph, mail or any other form of written communication, in a manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm; or

2. Makes a telephone call, whether or not a conversation ensues, with no purpose of legitimate communication; or

3. Strikes, shoves, kicks, or otherwise subjects another person to physical contact, or attempts or threatens to do the same because of a belief or perception regarding such person`s race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation, regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct; or

4. Commits the crime of harassment in the first degree and has previously been convicted of the crime of harassment in the first degree as defined by section 240.25 of this article within the preceding ten years.

Aggravated harassment in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor.

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