Joseph Balistreri.

By David R. Smith

A Somerville man will spend the next two and a half years in prison after pleading guilty Friday, Dec. 27, to charges stemming from racially motivated harassment and threats against an MBTA employee.

The sentence issued by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Carol Ball against 39-year-old Joseph Balistreri was for one count of criminal harassment. Ball also placed him on two years probation for three counts of violation of a permanent injunction and two counts of threats. Balistreri pleaded guilty to all the charges.

“Today’s sentence demonstrates that hate crimes will not be tolerated as we continue to work to protect the safety of our communities,” Attorney General Martha Coakley said in a statement announcing the sentence.

Balistreri was known to the A.G.’s office before the harassment case that landed him in jail. The office had obtained an injunction against him after he engaged in a bias-motivated attack on two MBTA riders in 2010, during which he physically and verbally assaulted two female undergraduate students based on their race and perceived sexual orientation.

The injunction, obtained under the state’s hate-crimes statute, prohibited Balistreri from violating the civil rights of the victims in that case, as well as anyone else in the state based upon race or sexual orientation.

The harassment of the African-American MBTA employee at the Sullivan Square Orange Line station began in the summer of 2012.

According to authorities, Balistreri initially targeted the MBTA employee after being asked to extinguish his cigarette in a non-smoking area of the station. Balistreri allegedly threatened and harassed the man, using racial epithets, on multiple occasions through February 2013 when asked to stop smoking on MBTA property.

Balistreri was observed punching a Charlie Card machine in March of this year. When asked if he needed assistance, Balistreri allegedly verbally assaulted and threatened the employee. Authorities allege that Balistreri was observed taking pictures of the employee a week later. When the employee confronted him, Balistreri allegedly responded with racial epithets and further stated that he and his friends would kill him.

Indictments were returned against Balistreri June 7. He was arraigned June 20 in Suffolk Superior Court, at which time he pleaded not guilty and was ordered held on $10,000 bail.

“This type of conduct can’t go unpunished,” MBTA Transit Police Chief Paul MacMillan said.  “We will not tolerate harassment of our dedicated public servants, who work hard to provide safe and reliable MBTA services to millions of people each week.”