Joseph Gerard Cancellare Jr. (Broward County Jail).
A Florida man is accused of mailing a greeting card smeared with peanut butter to his ex-wife's best friend, who has a life-threatening peanut allergy, because he blamed her for the divorce.
Joseph Gerard Cancellare Jr., 68, is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and culpable negligence.
According to a probable cause arrest affidavit, the victim was picking up her mail in August 2025 when she saw a blue envelope that appeared "greasy" and was addressed to a "Goergina Sawals." She opened the envelope, which contained a greeting card. The card allegedly had a "brown substance" that she recognized as peanut butter.
As she was "deathly allergic" to peanut butter, she dropped the envelope and ran inside to wash her hands. She suffered hives on both arms and had a tingling sensation that lasted six hours, cops wrote.
Police in Plantation, where Cancellare lives, learned that the "Forever" stamps on the envelope were purchased at a Davie Post Office kiosk about a week before the victim received the package.
Cancellare allegedly used his credit card to buy the stamps. The kiosk also captured Cancellare's face in a photo, which the victim "immediately recognized" when investigators showed it to her, the affidavit stated.
She said Cancellare was previously married to her best friend and they have known each other for 20 years. The divorce was "contentious" and Cancellare largely blamed the victim for the breakup, according to police. Cancellare would "absolutely know about her allergy as the couples went to dinner countless times," cops wrote.
Each time they went out to dinner, the victim would alert the restaurant of her allergy and make clear she could not have any contact with peanuts, peanut oil or items that have been cross-contaminated.
She said she can experience a reaction by touch, ingestion or through the air as peanuts can give off an airborne toxin. Without "immediate intervention," she could die, cops said.
"When [the victim] opened the envelope sent by Joseph, she immediately sprang into action to save her life," investigators explained. "The experience cause her extreme distress that was still visible when she provided the statement over a year later."
The victim last saw Cancellare about three years earlier, when she served as an "observer" during the "physical split" of property as part of the divorce settlement.
Cops arrested Cancellare on Friday and took him to the Broward County Jail, where he has since posted bond. His next court date is not listed.