Seven people have been identified after threats made against metro businessman and NCAA basketball referee John Higgins. But Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov says they will not puruse local charges.
Higgins, who owns the La Vista-based Weatherguard Inc, began receiving phone threats at his home and office after Kentucky's 75-73 NCAA Tournament loss to North Carolina.
Higgins told NewsRadio 1110 KFAB in April that his company was flooded with harassing email, voicemail and phone calls after he officiated that game. He said his family had received death threats.
Polikov said in a statement "Based on the investigation’s findings, our office has determined that no local charges will be filed and that pursuit of any criminal charges would be best served by deferring to authorities in the appropriate jurisdictions."
Polikov also says "the length of the investigation was drawn out due in part to the large volume of potential evidence requiring analysis and the multi-jurisdictional issues arising from the multiple states in which the communications originated. Despite these challenges, a thorough reviewwas able to identify seven individuals spanning a number of jurisdictions whose actions will be recommended for referral to the appropriate local and federal prosecutor’s offices, as well as with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Omaha Field Office."
Polikov also says at least two media outlets have been identified as "promoting and posting a video montage that exposed Mr. Higgins' private contact information."That information has been referred to the Federal Communications Commission for further investigation.