A former Tilden Township (just over the county line in Berks County) supervisor now living in Schuylkill County faces criminal charges after police say he embarked on a week-long harassment campaign over the Christmas holiday, leaving dozens of voicemails threatening to kill his family members and burn down a home.
Roy Borkey, 65, of Tamaqua, served as a supervisor from 1992 to 2004, and is now accused of sending threatening text messages and voicemails to several family members between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Tilden Township police say their the investigation began on Jan. 2 when three victims met with officers to report the communications.
Police allege the incident began on Christmas Day when Borkey sent text messages to one family member. After she and her husband asked Borkey to stop and blocked his number, investigators say Borkey immediately began texting his ex-wife.
Despite being told to stop, Borkey allegedly texted a family member 31 times and called them approximately 40 times within an eight-hour period starting Christmas afternoon, leaving 33 voicemails.
Police describe the messages as profane, vulgar, and threatening. In one voicemail, police say Borkey threatened to break into the family member’s home, stating he was going to “come there Monday and burn her [BLEEPING] house down, remember that b**ch.”
Borkey allegedly threatened the lives of his family members, too, police say.
“The body count starts tomorrow… I don’t give a [BLEEP], no life is too precious,” Borkey allegedly wrote. “One thing I am going to tell you, be scared, be very scared that’s all I am going to tell you.”
Police say Borkey specifically targeted an in-law in several messages, too.
“If it is the last thing I do [in-law] will not breathe again,” one message read, police say. Another stated, “[In-law] will be the first.”
In other messages transcribed by police, Borkey allegedly referred to himself as the “grim reaper” and warned, “I won’t be satisfied until you all die.”
“I am a [BLEEPING] crazy person now. If I am going to be treated like a criminal, I’ll be one,” Borkey allegedly wrote.
In addition to the messages sent to a family member, police say Borkey left 11 voicemails for an elderly female relative. In those messages, he allegedly stated, “I will be there at your death, that’s not a threat, that’s a promise.”
Investigators confirmed they have downloaded and saved all voicemails and text messages to the department server. Police say that they made numerous attempts to contact Borkey and left him voicemails to return calls, but he avoided them.
Borkey is scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 23 before Magisterial District Judge Kim Bagenstose in Hamburg. Police are charging him with four misdemeanor counts of making terroristic threats and to misdemeanor counts of harassment.
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