MANCHESTER – An estimated 650,000 of Mayor Frank Guinta's closest friends received messages sent from his city e-mail account Wednesday night and early Thanksgiving Day.

Well, maybe not his friends.

Someone hacked the mayor's City Hall account and used it to send the 650,000 messages.

Guinta yesterday said he found out about the messaging on Thanksgiving, when city information systems Director Jennie Angell called him. After the hack was discovered early Thursday, a stop was put on outgoing e-mail from the mayor's account.

"We don't know who the recipients are," said Guinta. He doesn't know whether it's all the same message. "So far, of the ones reviewed, it appears to be spam."

Because he's the mayor and a congressional candidate, Guinta said, "I'm more of a target."

He said he's pleased the police are taking the matter seriously and looks forward to the results of the investigation.

Unauthorized access to a computer or computer network is a felony. Police Capt. Gerald Lessard yesterday said the department's computer crime expert is working on the incident, and it's not yet known where the hack originated.

Lessard said it could have originated in another country, but police are asking anyone with information to call the detective division at 668-8711.