KNOXVILLE, Tenn.–A letter from Matthew Yussman, the credit union CFO who was abducted in his home as part of a robbery attempt in 2015, was read before a court here during a sentencing hearing of one of the men convicted of the crimes.
Michael Benanti, 45, was sentenced to four life sentences for the crime involving Yussman, along with similar abduction robberies in other states.
Yussman was confronted by gunmen at his home, along with his mother, who held him hostage all night and then strapped what he was told was a bomb to his chest and ordered to get $1 million from New Britain, Conn.-based Achieve Credit Union, where he worked. His mother was also tied up and held hostage, although she later escaped.
Yussman shared his story with CUToday.info here, and here.
During a hearing in Tennessee, where one of the robbers, Benanti, was convicted on 23 charges, including conspiracy to commit bank extortion, kidnapping and carjacking during a crime spree that took place in three states, the Hartford Courant reported that Yussman said in a letter, “"I have ... struggled with the emotional toll of believing that I was close to death when I thought the explosive device was going to detonate. The worst part was the waiting.’"
Yussman’s letter was entered into the court as part of the victims’ statements.
In his letter, as he shared with CUToday.info, Yussman related the difficulty of not just being a victim of a terrible crime, but the pain of later being considered a suspect by authorities.
"Your mind plays awful tricks on you while you wait for what you believe is inevitable. It is entirely true when they say your life flashes before your eyes. I am forever looking over my shoulder and never feel at ease when I am alone," Yussman wrote, according to the Courant.
Yussman asked the judge to hand down the maximum 300-year sentence to Benanti.
Benanti was convicted for the crimes along with his partner, Brian Witham, who testified against Benanti at his trial earlier this year. Witham has already agreed to serve a 42-year sentence.
A video interview with Yussman can be found here: http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-bristol-fake-bomb-yussman-sentencing-20170718-story.html