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Former Granite Recovery Centers CEO Eric Spofford Arrested for Alleged Journalist Stalking
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Eric Spofford, 40, the former CEO of New Hampshire’s largest addiction treatment network, Granite Recovery Centers, was arrested Friday on charges of orchestrating a conspiracy to stalk and harass journalists. The Department of Justice alleges the campaign was in retaliation for a New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct against Spofford during his tenure as CEO.
The NHPR investigation, which garnered significant local and national attention, detailed multiple allegations against Spofford, who vehemently denied the claims and subsequently filed a defamation lawsuit against the station. That lawsuit was dismissed by a New Hampshire judge in 2023.
According to the DOJ, Spofford’s alleged harassment campaign began around March 2022 and continued through at least May of that year. The targets included the NHPR journalist who authored the exposé, their family, and a senior editor at the station.
The DOJ alleges Spofford hired Eric Labarge, a close friend, and paid him $20,000 to vandalize the victims’ homes. The vandalism included spray-painting threatening messages and throwing rocks and bricks at the residences.
Labarge then reportedly enlisted Tucker Cockerline, Keenan Saniatan, and Michael Waselchuck to assist in the harassment campaign. All four men have already been convicted and sentenced for their roles.
Spofford, who claims to have sold Granite Recovery Centers in 2021 for a nine-figure sum, is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on Monday. NHPR President and CEO Jim Schachter expressed gratitude to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI for their work on the case, emphasizing the importance of press freedom and condemning attacks on journalists.