By THOMAS J. SHEERAN
Associated Press Writer
CLEVELAND (AP) — A man who wrote hundreds of racially hateful letters apparently was motivated by a girlfriend who left him for a black man, the FBI said Friday.

Frank Figliuzzi, head of the FBI in Cleveland, said David Tuason, 46, of suburban Pepper Pike, admitted his motive when arrested two months ago.

“The arresting agents, upon arresting him, reported that one of the first phrases out of his mouth was, ’You wouldn’t understand ’til it happened to you,’ and when they inquired what that meant, he said, ’My girlfriend left me for a black man.”’

The FBI was surprised that a jilted man was behind hundreds of hateful letters sent over 20 years, often to high-profile blacks seen with white women. The victims included Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.

Tuason, who is of Filipino descent, plead guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court to eight counts. At his sentencing July 24, he could receive up to 10 years in prison for writing a threatening letter to a Supreme Court justice and five years on each of the other charges.

At his court appearance, Tuason shed no light on why he wrote the messages, which sometimes were cast as letters from an irate white woman vowing vengeance and violence, such as castration or explosions at buildings.

The FBI had long been trying to find the source of the letters and e-mails. Agents arrested Tuason on March 14 after tracking e-mails sent from a public library.

FBI behavioral experts had developed several theories about the letter writer, but a jilted lover wasn’t in the mix, Figliuzzi said.

“I can tell you the jilted male was not one of the their theories,” he said. “It’s a lesson in considering the obvious. You can overcomplicate profiles and assessments and when you arrest the guy he says, ’My girlfriend left me for a black man.”’

Tuason’s defense attorney, Donna Grill, said Friday she could not comment on the case. The Tuason family attorney didn’t immediately return a call Friday seeking comment.