A 31-year-old Cheektowaga man is heading to prison after pointing a laser pointer at aircraft landing at the Buffalo airport.
Joseph L. Crapsi, 31, of Cheektowaga, who was convicted of pointing a laser pointer at an aircraft, was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo, according to U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo.
On March 2, 2024, a Delta Airlines flight was in flight and on approach to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Crapsi lives in the flight path of the airport and aimed the beam of a green laser pointer at the Delta Flight.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles M. Kruly and Craig R. Gestring.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Police Department, under the direction of Chief Brian Patterson, the Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief Brian Coons, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Allen B. Davis, II.