A 68-year-old Broward County man faces charges after Plantation police said he mailed a card smeared with peanut butter to a woman with a severe peanut allergy. Joseph Gerard Cancellare Jr. was arrested Friday on charges of culpable negligence exposing another person to harm and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to an arrest report.
The woman found the envelope in August 2025 after returning home from work, the report says. Hmm, the source date is not stated for the incident, so this line is removed in final.
The woman, who is the best friend of Cancellare’s ex-wife, told police she recognized the substance as peanut butter. She dropped the envelope, washed her hands and developed hives and tingling in both arms for about six hours, police said.
Investigators traced two “Forever” stamps on the envelope to a purchase at a U.S. Postal Service kiosk in Davie on Aug. 8. A Visa card belonging to Cancellare was used to buy them, police said. The woman identified him from a photograph obtained from the post office. The envelope was sent under a fictitious name and false return address and was processed in Miami on Aug. 13.
Police said a man familiar with the former couple told investigators that Cancellare knew about the allergy and had made remarks about wanting to harm the woman. The woman said she wants to pursue charges.
As of Saturday morning, Cancellare was held at the Broward Sheriff’s Office North Broward Bureau jail on a $20,000 bond.
Local readers may recall that the Plantation case was first reported in the Local 10 story. Hmm.
