Eric Spofford, the founder of New Hampshire’s largest network of addiction treatment centers, has been arrested and federally charged in connection with a series of coordinated vandalism attacks against New Hampshire Public Radio journalists.
Federal prosecutors allege Spofford paid $20,000 to associate Eric Labarge to orchestrate the attacks, which targeted the homes of NHPR reporter Lauren Chooljian, her parents, her editor Daniel Barrick, and a former residence. According to court documents, Labarge hired three others to carry out the acts, which included breaking windows and spray-painting threatening messages like “JUST THE BEGINNING.”
These attacks were in retaliation for NHPR publishing an article by Chooljian detailing sexual misconduct allegations made against Spofford.
Spofford was taken into custody on May 30. He faces four counts: conspiracy to commit stalking through interstate travel and the use of interstate communications, one count of stalking using a facility of interstate commerce, and two counts of stalking through interstate travel.
The arrest marks a turning point in a case that has drawn national attention. Until now, Spofford had denied any role in the harassment campaign. He had previously sued NHPR and its reporters for defamation following publication of the investigation, but that lawsuit and others were dismissed in 2023 for lack of evidence and failure to meet the legal standard for actual malice.
The other men involved in the vandalism have already faced sentencing. Labarge was sentenced to 46 months in prison in November 2023. Tucker Cockerline, another participant, was sentenced to 27 months in August 2024. Two others, Michael Waselchuck and Keenan Saniatan, have also pleaded guilty or are expected to do so.
The NHPR report at the center of the case was later developed into the podcast The 13th Step, which documented both the original investigation and the aftermath. The podcast received national recognition, earning an Edward R. Murrow Award and a Pulitzer Prize nomination.
New Hampshire Public Radio President and CEO Jim Schachter said of the arrest, “Everyone at New Hampshire Public Radio is grateful to the FBI and US Attorney’s Office for their persistence in pursuing Eric Spofford and his associates. His attempt to silence NHPR’s reporting on abuses of power in the addiction recovery industry failed, as should every attempt to snuff out press freedom.”
