Accusations of treason being plotted against Nero and the Senate first appeared in 62 . The Senate ruled that Antistius , a praetor , should be put to death for speaking ill of Nero at a party . Later , Nero ordered the exile of Fabricius Veiento who slandered the Senate in a book . Tacitus writes that the roots of the conspiracy led by Gaius Calpurnius Piso began in this year . To consolidate power , Nero executed a number of people in 62 and 63 including his rivals Pallas , Rubellius Plautus and Faustus Sulla . According to Suetonius , Nero " showed neither discrimination nor moderation in putting to death whomsoever he pleased " during this period .