Man charged with harassing former neighbor through mail

SWAMPSCOTT – A Marblehead man has been charged with criminal harassment after he allegedly sent suspicious packages to a former neighbor, which required the bomb squad to be called in.Kenneth Maas, 14 Tedesco Pond Place, Marblehead, was charged with criminal harassment out of Lynn District Court for mailing a plastic pig and suspicious items to a former neighbor.Detective Sgt. Tim Cassidy said when Maas lived on Laurel Road in Swampscott he was involved in an ongoing dispute with a neighbor and he started sending the suspicious packages to the neighbor in January 2010.”The victim received several suspicious packages in the mail containing weird things,” Cassidy said. “He sent numerous strange articles including weird magazines and a plastic pig. The bomb squad was called in twice. He had personal knowledge of the victim and included details about their daily life.”Cassidy said police worked with the United States Postal Inspector Sean Boyce and the packages were traced back to Maas.”We questioned him and he admitted sending the packages,” Cassidy said.Cassidy said the criminal complaint asks for restitution of up to $1,500 to cover the cost of bringing in the bomb squad to investigate.