Borderline Personality News

September 17, 2006

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Putting workers' minds at ease
The Salt Lake Tribune Sun, 10 Sep 2006 11:46 PM PDT
At first, it seemed as if little things were going wrong. Bonnie Harris forgot about sales appointments; she couldn't recall colleagues' names. But as her job in sales became more stressful, Harris developed intense mood swings and moments of terror. She saw psychiatrists, who prescribed various medications, but the drugs only made things worse, she says. At one point, she tried to throw

Penn psychiatrist to be honored today
The Philadelphia Inquirer
In the 1960s, University of Pennsylvania psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck began to develop the theories and practice of a new branch of psychoanalysis known as cognitive therapy.

Threats to Bush, Clinton Net 'Scary Man' 77 Mos.

The Philadelphia Daily News; 9/16/2006

Search for more information on HighBeam Research for Bor.

Sep. 16--A career criminal with a history of mental-health and drug- abuse problems was sentenced to 77 months in prison yesterday for threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction and sending threatening letters to President Bush, former President Bill Clinton and a senior federal official here.

Michael J. Silvera, 31, already is serving a 165-month sentence on child-pornography and fraud charges, imposed by a federal judge in North Carolina last November.

He'll begin serving the new sentence, which also includes a five-year term of supervision when he is released, once he has completed the North Carolina sentence.

During his period of supervised release, U.S. Senior District Judge Jan E. DuBois said Silvera was not to work with or have any contact with anybody under age 18, is to register as a sex offender in any state in which he lives or works and is to submit to computer monitoring by the U.S. probation office.

DuBois noted that Silvera had been diagnosed by court-appointed psychologists as having pedophilia, necrophilia, borderline-personality disorder and an anti-social personality, among other disorders.

Silvera's problems with the feds here began on June 3, 2005, when he mailed a package containing bogus anthrax to Patricia Arcuri, acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Philadelphia regional office.

The package also included a letter that DuBois said was "pretty disgusting."

He read the beginning of the letter into the record before sentencing: "'Listen bitch, listen good. This anthrax is f---ing lethal. You may not make it out alive.'"

On the same day, Silvera also sent threatening letters to Bush and Clinton.

Silvera pleaded guilty on June 14 to all charges. The plea agreement stipulated a sentence within the guideline range of 77-96 months.

Prosecutor Nancy Beam Winter yesterday called Silvera "a scary man" who had shown "not a second of remorse" to the victims of his crimes. She asked for a sentence at the high end of the guidelines.

Silvera's attorney, Edson Bostic, asked for a sentence of 77 months, citing Silvera's abusive parents and his history of mental- health problems, all of which he said contributed to his criminal behavior.

DuBois said he would have sentenced Silvera from the middle to the high end of the guideline range if he were not already serving a 165-month sentence. As it is, Silvera will be behind bars for the next 20 years.

Copyright (c) 2006, Philadelphia Daily News

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Copyright 2006 The Philadelphia Daily News

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