Esopus man accused of making terroristic threat to blow up an Ulster County building

KINGSTON - A town of Esopus man has been accused of threatening to blow up an Ulster County government building earlier this week.

The Ulster County Sheriff's office said the threat was reported to deputies assigned to the county's Department of Social Services building on Monday.

According to the sheriff's office, employees reported that when they were speaking to Michael J. Bassile, 37, of Esopus, he became angry and made a threat to blow up the building.

The sheriff's office said that caused staff members to fear for their safety, and they reported the incident to law enforcement.

Later that same day, deputies located Bassile in the City of Kingston and they took him into custody. The sheriff's office said Bassile was in possession of an undisclosed quantity of crack cocaine at that time.

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Bassile was charged with making a terroristic threat, a felony, and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor.

He was arraigned in Ulster County Court and sent to the Ulster County jail, where he is being held without bail due to previous felony convictions, pending future court appearances.

The name of Bassile's attorney was not immediately available.

Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record and the Poughkeepsie Journal. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com.