New York man charged with threatening Tampa Bay Rays
March 5, 2020 - A 23-year-old New York man faces federal charges of transmitting threats in interstate or foreign commerce, after he allegedly made numerous threats to carry out violence against professional athletes and/or their family members. Benjamin Tucker Patz, also known as “Parlay Patz," is accused in a federal criminal complaint of making numerous threats via Instagram messages, using anonymous accounts. Some of those threats were directed against players for the Tampa Bay Rays, after the team lost a home game to the Chicago White Sox on July 20, 2019, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida. Patz faces up to five years in federal prison.