"I’m having a Mass offered for your intentions – punk!"

Michael W. Lewis, a Clevelandarea broker indicted last month on charges he conspired to bribe Terrence W. Gasper, the former chief financial officer at the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, mailed the card to Gasper on June 23 telling him about a Catholic Mass he arranged in Gasper’s honor.

Lewis said it was an act of kindness for a friend "going through a difficult time." But federal prosecutors say it was an attempt to chill any testimony from Gasper, who has pleaded guilty to corruption charges and is cooperating with authorities — and that sending the card may have violated conditions of Lewis’ release on a $50,000 cash bond.

"The card is a poorly veiled and intentionally ambiguous attempt to intimidate Gasper and, thereby, influence any testimony he may give regarding Lewis at trial," prosecutors wrote in a notice to the court. "The most innocent comment to be made about this inappropriate communication is that is was not accompanied by the typical black rose."

That’s nonsense, said Lewis attorney Roger M. Synenberg, who said Lewis goes to Mass every day and made a caring gesture for a friend he has known for 20 years.

"That’s a very, very overactive imagination by the U.S. Attorney’s Office," Synenberg said. "It’s a Mass card, for crying out loud."

Hat tip to Kevin for this and the previous firey link.