A New Hope business owner is questioning why police failed to pursue charges against a man who allegedly made violent antisemitic threats against him and then weeks later was arrested for making similar threats against a Black church leader.
Robert Maschock, 61, of Point Pleasant, is awaiting a preliminary hearing scheduled for next month on a felony charge of ethnic intimidation and related misdemeanorsfor allegedly sending anti-Muslim and anti-Black text messages and threatening violenceagainst the deacon of a Plumstead Baptist church in September.
The threats against the deacon allegedly occurred after Sam Zuckerman says that he filed a complaint with New Hope police Aug. 11 alleging Maschock, a former employee, sent him more than 3,000 antisemitic
and threatening text messages, but the complaint was closed days later.
In a phone interview, Zuckerman, who is Jewish, alleges that Maschock worked for his art gallery for two weeks before he was fired for continuing to send other employees hundreds of inappropriate personal text messages after he was told to stop.
After he was fired, Maschock started sending him threatening text messages including antisemitic taunts and threats of violence, which he forwarded to police, Zuckerman alleges.
A copy of the incident report show New Hope police were notified of a disgruntled former employee allegedly threatening Zuckerman and other employees, but since the alleged crime involved text messages, an officer told Zuckerman he would have to contact police in New Jersey where he lived.
The officer contacted Maschock who showed up at the police station on Aug. 13 and requested the return of personal items left at his former work place, the report said.
At that time, Maschock said that he was fired from the business “because his boss accused him of being antisemitic due to his Russian and German heritage,” according to the report.
Police warned Maschock he would be arrested if he returned to the gallery, and after he picked up his belongings on Aug. 14, it appears the case was closed out, according to the report.
Zuckerman alleges, though, that he continued to press police to take the matter seriously, but he was told to “just ignore” Maschock.
After he learned earlier this month that Buckingham police filed charges against Maschock for allegedly making violent threats against someone else, Zuckerman contacted the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office about his experience, he said.
The DA’s office is now investigating how his earlier complaint was handled, Zuckerman said.
Bucks County District Attorney’s Office confirmed there is a new open investigation involving Maschock, spokesman Manuel Gamiz said.
New Hope Police Chief Kevin Edwards also confirmed the matter is “currently under investigation,” and declined further comment.
But Zuckerman said he is deeply troubled at the way the reported threats against him were handled.
“I felt so unsafe that I stayed away from the New Hope area for over a month,” he added. “I believed these threats warranted his arrest when I first reported them, and I want to understand why that did not happen.”
Crime and Courts Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: New Hope business owner says police ignored threats | Exclusive
