BOSTON — The founder and former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Granite Recovery Centers (GRC), a for-profit drug and alcohol treatment company in New Hampshire, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston for allegedly orchestrating a conspiracy to stalk and intimidate journalists from New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) in retaliation for unfavorable reporting, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced today.
Eric Spofford, 40, of Salem, New Hampshire and Miami, Florida, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit stalking through interstate travel and using a facility of interstate commerce; one count of stalking using a facility of interstate commerce; and two counts of stalking through interstate travel. Spofford was arrested on Friday and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston at 3:30 p.m. on June 2, 2025.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Spofford founded Granite Recovery Centers in 2008. In March 2022, NHPR published an article detailing multiple allegations of “sexual misconduct, abusive leadership, and retaliation” against Spofford while he was the CEO of GRC. The article drew significant attention both locally and nationally. Spofford publicly denied the claims and filed a defamation lawsuit against NHPR, which was dismissed by a New Hampshire judge in 2023.
Beginning around March 2022 and continuing through at least May 2022, Spofford allegedly “devised a scheme to harass and terrorize” the NHPR journalist who wrote the article, the journalist’s immediate family members, and a senior editor at NHPR, in retaliation for the reporting. The scheme allegedly included nighttime vandalism involving “large rocks and bricks” and spray painting “lewd and threatening language” on victims’ homes, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts reported.
Prosecutors allege that Spofford hired his close friend, Eric Labarge, to carry out the attacks, providing him with the victims’ addresses, instructions on how to harass and stalk the victims, and $20,000 in cash. Labarge allegedly enlisted the help of Tucker Cockerline, Keenan Saniatan, and Michael Waselchuck to carry out the stalking campaign.
Labarge, Cockerline, Saniatan, and Waselchuck were previously charged, convicted, and sentenced for their roles in the harassment. Labarge received 46 months in prison in November 2024; Cockerline, 27 months in August 2024; Saniatan, 30 months in December 2024; and Waselchuck, 21 months in September 2024.
Each count of the indictment against Spofford carries a potential sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and applicable statutes, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the State of Massachusetts said.
