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John J. Ford, a UFO enthusiast was placed under custody in June 1996, after the Suffolk County police learned that he was involved in a plot to assassinate three prominent Suffolk Republicans, according to a New York Times article.
Episode 2 of Out There: Crimes of the Paranormal, which arrived on HULU on September 24, 2024, will focus on John J. Ford, a UFO enthusiast, and his sinister plots. The episode is titled Lights Over Long Island and the synopsis for the same reads:
"A UFO enthusiast in Long Island is arrested for allegedly attempting to poison elected officials. But he insists he’s innocent – and alleges the real criminals are the officials covering up.."
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In 1997, on the date of the trial, the judge found John 'delusional' and hence unfit for a trial. After this, he was sent to the Mid-Hudson Psychiatric Center as per reports by The Washington Post. In 2019, he was sent to a less restrictive psychiatric center in New York, after a transfer order was issued for the same, where John J. Ford remains to date.
John J. Ford aimed to establish the existence of aliens
On November 24, 1992, Long Island citizens allegedly saw a UFO crashing, after which John J. Ford, a UFO and alien enthusiast supposedly went over and beyond to prove the fact that aliens exist.
John had also founded the Long Island UFO Network previously, to prove to the world that aliens exist. After the alleged UFO crash in Long Island, Ford believed that the aliens were held captive at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, located in Upton.
As reported by the New York Times, John J. Ford believed that the top government officials had created ‘diversionary fires’ to hide the truth about a UFO crash in Long Island.
Ford also believed that the Suffolk officials were the reason he could not contact the aliens. Resorting to his belief, and as revealed by the investigators and reported by the New York Times, Ford plotted to kill three of the officials he deemed responsible for not being able to contact the aliens successfully.
Allegedly, John made preparations to kill -
- John Powell - Suffolk County Republican Committee’s Ex chairman
- Anthony Gazzola -an ex-leader of a Conservative Party
- Fred Towle - An ex-Suffolk legislator
John J. Ford wanted to kill the three people mentioned above by lacing their toothpaste with radioactive metal. He also tried to put radium in the cars and homes of the officials, so that the lethal radiation could kill them slowly.
As reposted by Newsday, he also planned on burning down the Suffolk Republican headquarters and also intended to encourage members of the Conservative Party to do so. When Ford’s residence was searched, the authorities also found knives, radioactive materials, and more items from his home, which aided his arrest.
John J. Ford was arrested in 1996 but was not tried
He was arrested in 1996 and was charged with one count of illegal possession of radioactive materials, three counts of second-degree conspiracy to commit murder, and three counts of second-degree criminal solicitation, as reported by The New York Times.
However, in 1997, in the trial he was found to be unfit to be tried, following which he was sent to a psychiatric institution for regular monitoring. In 1999, Ford pleaded not guilty to the crimes, citing insanity as the reason for his past actions.
However, two other men who were Ford’s partners in crime, Joseph Mazzuchelli and Edward Zabo, pleaded guilty. Reportedly, Zabo confessed that that he supplied the radioactive substance to Ford and Joseph confessed to helping Ford in planting those materials. As per the New York Times, they also agreed to confess against the accused.
Ford's counsel reportedly argued that sending him to a secure setting would help his mental health, therefore in 2019 Ford was released from the Mid-Hudson Psychiatric Center and transferred to a less strict one.
Steve Metcalf, one of John J. Ford's attorneys said,
"He would actually be able to spend time with his family and loved ones in a way that he's not now... There is no risk to anyone if Ford some day re-enters society..."
To know more about this case, watch episode 2 of Out There: Crimes of the Paranormal on HULU.
