An electrical engineer from upstate New York has been fined $5,000 and sentenced to 180 hours of community service for accusing his boss of spying for another country.
Ryan Letcher of Endicott in the Southern Tier was convicted in August by a jury of making a false statement to federal authorities.
Prosecutors say 39-year-old Letcher in March 2012 wrote an anonymous letter to the Defense Security Service accusing his boss at BAE Systems, a defense contractor, of being "foreign intelligence," which they say means spying.
The company's facility in Endicott works on electronics systems.
The FBI investigated his boss, concluding he isn't a spy.
According to authorities, Letcher said he sent the letter because of conflict with the supervisor over taking credit for his work.
