Man found guilty of plot to kidnap attorney, gets 30 years

A judge expressed sympathy for the former Holtsville landscaper who tried to kidnap his attorney — Suffolk Conservative Party chairman Frank Tinari — but concluded Wednesday that the defendant was so dangerous he should spend 30 years in prison.

Glenn Terry, 49, was convicted in October of second-degree attempted kidnapping and five weapons charges in a bizarre attempt to reopen a settled civil case.

Jurors found that Terry planned for more than a year to grab Tinari, duct tape his mouth shut, stash him in his father’s basement in Holtsville and douse him with gasoline.

“This has been an extremely difficult case,” said state Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho in Central Islip. “Is he really dangerous or was he just playing a game? The evidence shows he is dangerous.”

Camacho said Terry spent months planning and even moved to Port Charlotte, Florida, to acquire the weapons needed to abduct and terrorize his former lawyer.

“This nightmare was real,” Camacho said. And it would continue without a lengthy sentence, Assistant District Attorney Peter Timmons said in court.

“What’s particularly disturbing about this case is the length Mr. Terry went to kidnap Mr. Tinari,” Timmons said. “This defendant will probably be sitting in a jail cell, no matter how much time he gets, marking off the days until he can complete his attack.”

Terry showed no visible emotion when the sentence was imposed.

Tinari was not present, but Timmons told Camacho that the Central Islip attorney remains “extremely fearful of this defendant.”

Terry hired Tinari in 2002 to sue the oil company and contractor that installed the hot water system at his home, believing they were responsible for severe burns he suffered when he fell into a bathtub full of scalding water.

Tinari eventually negotiated a $450,000 settlement in 2008. A few years later — after spending all the money — Terry sought to have the case reopened and became enraged when Tinari explained there was no way to do that, the lawyer testified during the trial.

Prosecutors said Terry moved to Florida in 2014 as part of an intricate plot. There, he bought a Ruger 9-mm pistol, Taser electronic dart stun gun, Zap stun gun, Rambo combat knife, pepper spray, handcuffs and other kidnapping tools.

After about a year, Terry sold his Florida house and drove back to Long Island. The day after he arrived, on March 27, 2015, he went to Tinari’s office and laid in wait for him, parked near the front entrance. But Tinari had already arrived at work, using the rear door.

A few hours later, Terry was on his way back to try again when police pulled him over for a traffic offense and spotted a Taser cartridge in the car.

Before the sentencing, defense attorney Marc Gann of Mineola asked Camacho to remove him from the case, citing a letter Terry had written saying he couldn’t trust Gann.

Before the trial, both Terry and Gann tried to end their relationship, but Camacho kept Gann on the case. He did so again Wednesday.

Gann said his client was a “broken man,” suffering physically and psychologically, not only from the scalding incident, but also from getting hit in the head with a pool cue about 10 years earlier. As a result, he became obsessed with righting wrongs done to him, Gann said.

Gann said such a man did not deserve a lengthy sentence, and argued that the sentences for attempted kidnapping and weapons possession could not run consecutively because they were part of the same act.

Camacho disagreed.

Gann said he would appeal the conviction and the sentence.