Mail Security Training and Services

John Deere Shut Down When Powdery White Substance Is Found  (WQAD, 4/30/2010)

MOLINE, IL - Operations at a John Deere plant in Moline came to an abrupt halt Friday afternoon after an envelope covered in a powdery white substance was discovered in the facility's mail room. Emergency crews determined the substance was not hazardous, but not before it left a big impact on those involved.

It was a scary scene on river drive in Moline. Fire departments closed off several blocks of river drive to traffic, after an envelope with a suspicious white substance on it shut down John Deere seeding group.

"Until we can identify what the substance was they would all be considered contaminated, so they'd have to be kept in there until we can conclude that is not the case," says Ron Miller, Moline Fire Chief, speaking of the Deere employees.

Hazmat crews from Moline, East Moline, Rock Island, the Arsenal, Quad City Airport and Bettendorf set up a decontamination bath to prepare for the worst, a biological agent. They called in the FBI and hazmat crews suited up to test the powder, while 100 employees anxiously waited to get an all clear. Crews used a kit to test for protein, if the substance had contained protein, it would be considered dangerous.

"Hazmat crews went in with their equipment and the substance that was on the envelope does not appear, at this time, to be of hazardous nature," says Chief Miller.

After three long hours of investigating, employees waiting inside a shut down plant, next to a shut street, learned it was all for naught. If it was a prank, it was a costly one.

"Yes, you can see we've got plenty of manpower here and not only us but the employees there who had to hang over, so yes, it would not be a funny joke," says Chief Miller.

Chief Miller did not release any details about the envelope, like whether it had a return address or postmark on it. Miller says crews left it sealed because the substance was on the outside of the envelope. They can't say yet whether it was put there intentionally or happened by chance.

If it's a prank, those caught can face jail time, fines and restitution. The FBI took the envelope to Springfield for further testing to identify the substance.

UK Teenager Arrested in Possession of Ricin Convicted in Terrorism Trial  (Guardian, 4/30/2010)

UK--A teenage milkman who was prepared to "die fighting" for an ultra rightwing group called the Aryan Strike Force was convicted on three terrorism charges today.

Nicky Davison claimed he only joined the small but fanatical band to please his father, its organizer, who has admitted six terrorism charges including making the deadly poison ricin.

But a jury took less than an hour to accept the prosecution's case that the 19-year-old knew his own mind and had eagerly embraced the Nazi rhetoric amid which he grew up.

He downloaded thousands of internet pages on making bombs and guns and posted messages on the group's website about overthrowing what he called ZOG, or the "Zionist Occupied Government".

Davison, of county Durham, was remanded in custody and left Newcastle crown court for jail after hugging his tearful mother who watched his two-week trial from the public gallery.

She heard prosecutor Andrew Edis QC tell the jury of nine men and three women that her son was a significant figure in a group whose members were no mere "keyboard warriors".

"They were preparing to do 'ops', in other word paramilitary activity," said Edis. "They were in the early stages of preparation."

After the verdict, Detective Superintendent Neil Malkin of Durham police said the group's threats had been taken seriously.

"I have no understanding of their intended target, but what I do know is the nature of the organization. What it had pulled together in terms of the ricin, pipe bombs and the internet manuals can only give me concerns that the next step was to take it to the streets," he said.

Davison was not accused of helping his 47-year-old father Ian, a former DJ, to make the ricin – a single jar which is now at the government's Porton Down chemical warfare research station. He was described in court as "clearly an influential figure in the creation and development of the Aryan Strike Force website".

The aim of this was not merely serving up white supremacist propaganda but interesting others in violence. Edis said: "They are fighting against the government because they believe it has been taken over by Jews, so it must be resisted by those interested in white supremacy."

Members also referred to themselves as the Wolfpack or Legion 88 and used codenames with known references to Hitler and other Nazi leaders. They posted incongruous films of members out in remote areas of the Cumbrian fells, wearing balaclavas, holding Nazi swastika flags and giving Heil Hitler salutes.

The jury heard that Nicky Davison had written on the website: "I know my aims. I don't care if I am fighting an unwinnable battle.

"I would rather die fighting than let the scum of the earth walk over us."

The group was obsessed with being more neo-Nazi than other rightwing groups, which they mocked as ineffective.

California Man Charged For Sending White Powder Along With Parking Ticket Payment   (Orange County Local, 4/30/2010)

Orange County, CA--A Pacific Grove man will be arraigned Friday for allegedly mailing an envelope containing white powder to a collection company after becoming angry about a parking ticket, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced.

William Louis Poolman, 52, is charged with one felony count of mailing a false weapon of mass destruction. He is being held on $100,000 bail and, if convicted, faces up to three years in prison.

Poolman received a citation for $68.50 from the California Department of State Parks and Recreation for failing to pay for parking at a state park, according to a press release from the D.A. After an appeal of the ticket was rejected, Poolman was instructed to send payment to a Costa Mesa parking citation collection agency, Judicial Data Systems.

Poolman is accused of mailing his check for $68.50 to Judicial Data Systems with a copy of his denied appeal form sometime in early April, and he allegedly included in the envelope about one gram of a white powder intended to scare the company into thinking it was a hazardous substance. In the memo section of his check and across the appeal request form, Poolman allegedly wrote threatening and profane messages.

The company received the form on April 12. Police determined that the substance was not hazardous.

The defendant was arrested Wednesday at a restaurant in Monterey where he worked.

Hazmat Crews Called To Investigate Powder Sent to Salt Lake City Financial Services Company  (KSL, 4/29/2010)

SALT LAKE CITY, UT -- Hazmat crews are investigating a white powder found inside an envelope at a Salt Lake City business.

An employee in the mailroom of the Discover Financial Services building at 5420 W. 1730 South opened the envelope Thursday morning and discovered the white powdery substance.

Eight employees in the area were quarantined and decontaminated. However, no one showed signs of getting sick from the substance.

The possible contamination was confined to the mailroom, so no evacuations were ordered.

The powder is now at the lab for testing and identification.

BNP Candidate Sends Hate Mail To Rival  (Croydon Guardian, 4/29/2010)

UK--In an abusive letter, the BNP candidate for Croydon Central has called Conservative Gavin Barwell a “traitor” to his race and said he would like to see him “hung for treason”.

Cliff Le May, wrote to Mr Barwell at his campaign office after he received David Cameron’s letter urging residents not to vote for Andrew Pelling.

The letter, which was seen by Mr Barwell’s wife and his seven-year-old son reads: “You dirty, sleazy scumbags. If I have my way I will see you all hung for treason.”

Mr Barwell said he received the letter after a long day on the campaign trail and because he was tired, left it out when he went to bed, where it was seen by his family.

He said: “I just think it shows what kind of people these are. I don’t understand why people, when they have different views, can’t just be polite about it.

“If he wants to write to me about being in the EU or immigration that’s fine, but there is no need for personal abuse.”

Mr Le May was unrepentant when asked why he wrote the letter.

He said: “I am referring to the entire Conservative Party – they are dirty, sleazy scumbags. This is a personal view, not a party view.”

Mr Le May did not think his letter was “harsh” and did not care his words had been seen by a child.

U.S. Military Develops Non-Toxic Cleaners For Terrorist Attacks  (USA Today, 4/29/2010)

The U.S. military has developed non-toxic, ultra-strength cleaners that could be used in the aftermath of a terrorist attack.

The peroxide-based "green" decontaminants are tough enough to get rid of nerve gas, mustard gas, radioactive isotopes and anthrax, report U.S. military scientists in the American Chemistry Society's Industrial Engineering and Chemistry Research, a bimonthly journal.

The scientists say they developed "Decon Green" cleaners because chlorine- and lye-based agents are potentially hazardous and can react with chemical weapons and other materials in the environment to form new toxic substances.

The main ingredients in each formula are peroxides, used in household cleaners and whitening toothpaste. To bolster their efficacy, they're mixed with bicarbonates and other non-toxic bases.

"Such solutions can be fashioned which will not freeze at very low temperatures (−32 °C) so that they can be easily deployed in cold weather," report the scientists at the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center.

Alabama Men Indicted For Multiple Anthrax Threats  (BioPrep Watch, 4/29/2010)

Birmingham, AL--Two Alabama men were indicted on Wednesday by a federal grand jury in connection with a series of anthrax hoax letters mailed in Alabama this month and in March.

Clifton Lamar "Cliff" Dodd was charged with mailing 15 hoax letters between March 6 and April 5. The letters allegedly contained a threat in the form of white powder.

One of Dodd's letters was sent to U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby's office in Birmingham, Alabama's Robert S. Vance Federal Building on March 8. Other recipients of the hoax letters from Dodd include Alabama Sen. Jim Preuitt of Talladega, two Talladega County state court judges, Talladega County Sheriff Jerry Studdard, two inmates of the Talladega County Jail when Dodd served time, a Lincoln and Oxford police department investigators who had previously interviewed Dodd.

Dodd and Milstead Earl "Mickey" Darden were charged with eight other counts of mailing hoax anthrax letters on April 24.

A 24th indictment charges Dodd and Darden with conspiring to send threatening hoax letters that were mailed April 24. Dodd and Darden were arrested by postal inspectors on April 24 after depositing eight letters in an outdoor drop box at the Pell City Post Office. Those eight letters were found to contain white powder, the arrest affidavit says.

The indictment alleges that Darden allowed Dodd to assemble the eight letters while sitting in Darden's car. Darden is also alleged to have driven Dodd to the Pell City Post Office to mail them.

Illinois Teen May Pay For Cost of Prank Anthrax Hoax  (Daily Herald, 4/28/2010)

McHenry County, IL--A McHenry County teen who police say tried to prank a buddy by placing a mysterious white powder in his mailbox may soon find out that the joke is on him.

McHenry County authorities on Wednesday announced the arrest of the 16-year-old Harvard boy on a misdemeanor reckless conduct charge and said he may be on the hook for the costs of the massive emergency response his alleged actions triggered.

"He tried to pull a practical joke and it backfired on him," sheriff's Sgt. Michael Cisner said. "He got arrested and he might have to pay for all the manpower put into this. We have to send a message out that jokes and pranks like this won't be tolerated."

Cisner did not have a final tally Wednesday on the cost of the emergency response.

The arrest ends an investigation launched March 31 when sheriff's police, Harvard firefighters and a hazardous material crew responded to a home in Alden Township after its owner received an envelope filled with an unknown white powder, later determined to be talcum powder.

Writings left inside the envelope along with the powder were traced back to the 16-year-old boy who was questioned and ultimately confessed, Cisner said. He was arrested and later released to his mother's custody. His case was referred to juvenile court, authorities said.

Sacramento Man Sentenced for Sending Anthrax Hoax Letters  (Ethiopian Review, 4/28/2010)

SACRAMENTO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that Marc M. Keyser, 66, of Sacramento, was sentenced today to 51 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, by U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. in Sacramento. Calling him a danger to the community, Judge Damrell ordered Keyser remanded into custody to commence serving his prison sentence.  A further hearing is set to determine the restitution owed by Keyser for the costs of responding to the hoax letters.

Keyser was convicted by a jury on September 17, 2009 of three counts of committing an anthrax hoax and two counts of mailing threatening communications. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Wagner and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jean Hobler.

Evidence presented at trial established that in January 2007, Keyser mailed a package to the Sacramento News & Review, promoting a book that he had written about potential anthrax attacks in the United States by terrorists. The package included a copy of the book on CD, a note offering to discuss publication of excerpts of the book, and a cylindrical aerosol canister labeled “Anthrax.” The mailing resulted in the evacuation of the building and a full law enforcement and hazmat response. An investigating FBI special agent interviewed Keyser at that time, informed him of the consequences of the mailing, and specifically admonished him that he risked prosecution under the hoax mailings statute if he sent any similar mailings in the future.

According to court documents, including Keyser’s own testimony at trial, in late October 2008 Keyser mailed over 100 packages that contained a CD with excerpts of a new book on terrorism that was labeled in large print “Anthrax Shock and Awe Terror” and a small sugar packet that had been re-labeled with a bio-hazard symbol and the words “Anthrax sample.” Most of the packages had no information indicating that the CD contained a book. The mailings were sent to various newspapers and other media companies, officials, and retail outlets nationwide, causing police, fire, and hazmat teams to respond to emergency calls in many states.

The counts on which Keyser was convicted relate to a mailing received by Congressman George Radanovich’s office in Modesto, California and mailings received at McDonald’s and Starbucks restaurants in Sacramento. An employee of Congressman Radanovich’s office testified during the trial that following receipt of Keyser’s mailing, police, fire department, and hazmat personnel responded to the scene, and two employees were transported to the hospital for medical screening.

Keyser stated to investigating agents that he intended the mailings to be “provocative” and that he hoped the controversy and “buzz” generated by news reports about the mailings would heighten awareness of anthrax vulnerability and spur sales of his book. The jury acquitted Keyser on eight other counts in the indictment.

In sentencing Keyser, Judge Damrell told Keyser that “you want attention more than anything, you crave it. The attention you get is more important than the effect you have on others.”

U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner stated, “Hoaxes like these hurt our national security, draining critical resources from investigation of and preparation for real threats against our homeland. Today’s sentence sends a strong message to anyone considering imitating Mr. Keyser’s fake anthrax packages—there are real consequences for those who behave like terrorists.”

Parole has been abolished in the federal system, and Keyser will be required to serve at least 85 percent of the prison time imposed today.

Malta Police Continue to Investigate Letter Bomb Murder From 32 Years Ago  (Times of Malta, 4/28/2010)

Malta--The police are continuing to investigate the letter bomb murder of Karin Grech and following any information that is received, including information which was received recently, Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici said in parliament this evening.

He was replying to a parliamentary question by Anthony Agius Decelis.

Ms Grech was 15 when she was killed by a letter bomb addressed to her father, gynaecologist Edwin Grech, three days after Christmas 32 years ago.

The minister also said that there are 43 unsolved murder cases, the oldest dating back to 1972.

Canadian Police Puzzling Over White Powder Mailings  (CTV Toronto, 4/27/2010)

Toronto, ON, Canada--An Oshawa residence has received its second suspicious package of white powder in the mail in as many years.

"On Monday April 26, 2010 at approximately 12:45 p.m. an envelope was hand-delivered from a Canada Post carrier to a resident of an Oshawa home.  The homeowner became suspicious immediately and notified police," Durham Regional Police said Tuesday in a news release.

The homeowner contacted police. When the officers arrived, they saw that the package contained a white powder.

This led to the Oshawa Fire hazardous materials team getting involved. They took it to the Durham Region Health Department, who then had it transported to the Ministry of Health in Toronto for laboratory analysis.

"No one was physically injured during the incident," police said.

This last incident happened to the same family at the same address in January 2009.

"The powder from the first incident was analyzed by the Ministry of Health and was determined to be a powder substance used for making glue," police said.

No one was injured and no one was ever arrested. Police say that investigation remains active.

Police are asking for the public's help. Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-579-1520. Anonymous tips can be made by calling 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

Suspicious Powder Found At Texas VA Clinic Found Non-Dangerous  (KGNS, 4/27/2010)

Laredo, TX--The Laredo Veterans Clinic had to be evacuated this afternoon, after a suspicious white substance was found in an envelope.

Officials say the substance was tested, and proved to not be dangerous.

This was the scene shortly after 3 pm in the 6500 block of Star Court.

Hazmat crews, firefighters, and paramedics were on the scene as at least a dozen area veterans had to be escorted out of the building.

According to fire officials, someone called in about a suspicious white powder that was found in an envelope at the facility.

Although the substance was found to not be anything dangerous, the investigation has been turned over to federal agents.

Two Alabama Men Arrested For Mailing Letters Containing White Powder   (The Birmingham News, 4/26/2010)

Birmingham, AL--U.S. postal inspectors on Saturday arrested two men they had been tracking after they mailed eight letters containing white powder at the Pell City post office, authorities said today.

Clifton Lamar "Clifford" Dodd, 38, and Milstead Earl Darden, 38, of Montevallo, had an initial appearance today before a federal magistrate on charges of mailing hoax letters. Dodd is also suspected of mailing 17 letters containing white powder in March and April to authorities, inmates and politicians, including to U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby's Birmingham office.

Dodd remains in the Jefferson County jail pending a detention hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Darden has been released on bond, according to U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance's office.

Efforts to reach Darden's attorney were not immediately successful. An attorney for Dodd said he is reviewing his client's case.

Postal inspectors, Federal Protective Services agents, and FBI agents conducted a surveillance operation of Dodd and Darden on Saturday, after receiving information from a confidential source that Dodd planned to meet with Darden on Saturday to mail more powder letters, according to an affidavit from a postal inspector that is included in the complaint against Dodd and Darden. They followed the two men to the Pell City post office and observed Dodd get out, walk to the drop boxes and leave. Investigators found eight letters leaking white powder. Dodd and Darden were arrested in a Waffle House parking lot about an hour and a half later.

Dodd also is suspected of sending 17 letters in March and April to various recipients, including to Shelby at his office in the Robert S. Vance Federal Building in Birmingham. Other intended recipients allegedly included state Sen. Jim Preuitt of Talladega, two Talladega County state court judges, Talladega County Sheriff Jerry Studdard, several Talladega County Jail inmates who were in the jail at the same time as Dodd, and police investigators from both the Lincoln and Oxford police departments who previously had interviewed Dodd.

The hoax letters mailed in March and April are not connected to 11 letters mailed in January to the offices of U.S. senators and representatives in Alabama, including Sen. Shelby's office. Dodd and Darden are not considered suspects in that case, which is still under investigation, according to Vance's office.

Dodd, in an April 19 interview with authorities, denied any knowledge of the powder letters, according to the affidavit from the postal inspector. He had no explanation why his handwriting would be on those envelopes.

Vance said such hoaxes create fear and cost taxpayers thousands of dollars in testing the potentially hazardous letters.

Massachusetts Man Charged With Using Mails to Harass Neighbor, Causing Bomb Squad Investigations  (Swampscott Reporter, 4/26/2010)

Swampscott, MA — A Marblehead man who allegedly harassed a former neighbor in Swampscott is facing a charge of criminal harassment, according to Swampscott Police Detective Sgt. Tim Cassidy.

Kenneth Maas, 14 Tedesco Pond Place, Marblehead, was charged in Lynn District Court for allegedly mailing a plastic pig and other suspicious packages to a former neighbor on Laurel Road in Swampscott. The Massachusetts State Police bomb squad was called in twice to investigate the packages received by the Swampscott resident, Cassidy said.

He said packages were sent via the mail, beginning in January this year, some containing “weird magazines.” He said U.S Postal Service Inspector Sean Boyce traced the origin of packages back to Maas, whom Cassidy said had been involved in an ongoing dispute with his former neighbor.

“We questioned him and he admitted sending the packages,” Cassidy said. The criminal complaint against Maas seeks restitution of up to $1,500 to cover the cost of calling in the bomb squad to investigate, he added.

Swiss Police Thwart 'Eco-Anarcho Terror' Attack On IBM  (The Register, 4/27/2010)

IBM has been allegedly targeted by a group of Italian eco-terrorists intent on bombing a planned nano-technology centre in Switzerland.

Police in Switzerland apparently foiled the attack by members of Italian eco-anarchist group Il Silvestre when they stopped a car a few miles from the target on April 15.

Officers allegedly found a primed device when they searched the vehicle, the Daily Mail reports. According to the Mail, police said "A large quantity of explosives was found."

Constantino Ragusa and Silivia Guerini, both Italian, and Italian-Swiss Luca Bernasconi were arrested, and are being held in jail. Guerini and Constantini both have previous form for eco-terror offences, the Mail reports.

Prosecutors believe the three were thought to be en route to IBM's nano-technology research centre near Zurich. The company is also thought to be planning to carry out bio-tech research there.

According to the New York Times, prosecution spokeswoman Jeannette Balmer refused to confirm the names of the three or speculate on their motives.

However, Il Silvestre has an green anarchist agenda, including opposition to all forms of micro-technology, nuclear technology and weapons.

It apparently began in Tuscany, and has a rigid cell structure. Members have been previously accused of direct actions including arson and targeting both right wing politicians and electricity pylons.

Despite the group's opposition to technology, supporters appear happy to take to the internet to back up the organization.

IBM said in a statement, "IBM has been notified by Swiss police authorities about an investigation and is co-operating accordingly."

Dozens of White Powder Letters in Texas Appear Related  (Dallas Morning News,  4/24/2010)

Dallas, TX--A letter with white powder that created a scare Friday at Love Field contained the same cryptic message as other letters sent since 2008 to two North Texas schools, dozens of governors across the country, and U.S. embassies around the world.

The letters, all postmarked in North Texas, have contained the same cryptic message: "Al Qaeda FBI in America," law enforcement officials said.

The FBI asked for public help when news of the mailings was first reported but has remained silent about the investigation as more letters have surfaced.

The mailings apparently started in December 2008, when someone sent letters containing white powder to at least 40 governors and 19 U.S. embassies from Spain to South Korea.

All the letters were postmarked "Dallas" or "North Texas," which indicates it was processed at the post office in Coppell, the FBI said at the time.

In a twist that made it appear the sender was taunting the FBI, the return addresses were current or former FBI offices, agents said.

In every case, the white powder turned out to be harmless. But the scares caused evacuations, the mobilization of hazardous materials teams, and in some cases, sent people to the hospital as a precaution.

In 2008, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service offered $100,000 for information leading to the sender's conviction.

On Friday, FBI spokesman Mark White said he could not comment on the investigation or any links between the more recent letters.

But they appeared strikingly similar.

In November 2009, white powder letters with the same references to the FBI and Al Qaeda were sent to at least seven foreign missions at the United Nations in New York. Employees who came in contact with the letters had to be decontaminated.

"Anybody who thinks it's a joke is making a very bad mistake," said an angry New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

On April 6, elementary schools in Garland and Sachse received white powder letters with the same one-line message, a school employee said. The schools were evacuated, and parents rushed to check on their children.

On Friday, the letter that surfaced at an American Airlines office at Love Field appeared to be nearly identical, law enforcement officials said.

A Dallas Fire-Rescue hazardous materials team found the white powder was harmless. Later tests determined it was flour, said DFR spokesman Jason Evans.

Sending threatening letters, even it it's a hoax, is punishable by up to 10 years in prison for each letter sent.

Man in Massachusetts Charged With Harassing Former Neighbor Through Mail  (The Daily Item, 4/23/2010)

SWAMPSCOTT - A Marblehead man has been charged with criminal harassment after he allegedly sent suspicious packages to a former neighbor, which required the bomb squad to be called in.

Kenneth Maas, 14 Tedesco Pond Place, Marblehead, was charged with criminal harassment out of Lynn District Court for mailing a plastic pig and suspicious items to a former neighbor.

Detective Sgt. Tim Cassidy said when Maas lived on Laurel Road in Swampscott he was involved in an ongoing dispute with a neighbor and he started sending the suspicious packages to the neighbor in January 2010.

"The victim received several suspicious packages in the mail containing weird things," Cassidy said. "He sent numerous strange articles including weird magazines and a plastic pig. The bomb squad was called in twice. He had personal knowledge of the victim and included details about their daily life."

Cassidy said police worked with the United States Postal Inspector Sean Boyce and the packages were traced back to Maas.

"We questioned him and he admitted sending the packages," Cassidy said. Cassidy said the criminal complaint asks for restitution of up to $1,500 to cover the cost of bringing in the bomb squad to investigate.

Suspicious Package At Dallas Love Field Harmless  (AP, 4/23/2010)

Dallas, TX--Authorities say a suspicious package discovered at Love Field airport in Dallas turned out to be harmless.

Love Field spokesman Jose Torres says the airport called police and the fire department's hazardous materials team when an envelope with powder and a threatening letter were found in an east concourse office Friday morning.

Dallas Police Lt. Andrew Harvey says authorities created a small "containment zone" around the area but did not call for evacuations.

Testing revealed that the powder was non-threatening although police and other officials remain on site until the investigation is complete.

Torres says flight operations were never affected.

Lockdown As 'White Powder' Is Sent To Belfast Police Station  (Belfast Telegraph, 4/24/2010)

Belfast, Ireland--A north Belfast police station was placed on lockdown last night after a package containing suspicious white powder was opened by a police officer.

At 4pm yesterday afternoon a police officer at Antrim Road police station opened a delivered package containing a white powder - believed to be a suspicious chemical.

Fire officers were sent to the scene but no one was injured.

The Health and Safety Executive is investigating the circumstances of the incident.

A police spokeswoman said: “At no stage was there a threat to the local community. The white powder has been removed for forensic examination.”

Colleague Says Anthrax Numbers Add Up to Unsolved Case  (Pro Publica, 4/23/2010)

A microbiologist who supervised the work of accused anthrax killer Bruce E. Ivins explained to a National Academy of Sciences panel Thursday why the arithmetic of growing anthrax didn't add up to Ivins' mailing deadly spores in fall 2001.

"Impossible," said Dr. Henry S. Heine of a scenario in which Ivins, another civilian microbiologist working for the Army, allegedly prepared the anthrax spores at an Army lab at Fort Detrick. Heine told the 16-member panel that Ivins would have had to grow as many as 10 trillion spores, an astronomical amount that couldn't have gone unnoticed by his colleagues.

According to FBI calculations, Ivins accomplished this working after-hours in a special suite for handling lethal agents designated B3, for Biohazard Level 3. A bar chart released by the bureau when it closed its nearly 9-year-old Amerithrax case in February showed that in August and September 2001, the months immediately before the first anthrax letters were mailed, Ivins logged 34 more hours in the B3 suite than his combined total for the previous seven months.

"That's more than 8,000 hours (close to a year) short of what he would have needed to grow the anthrax," Heine told ProPublica in an interview after his NAS presentation.

Dr. Heine says it would've taken a flask filled to brimming to come close to producing all the spores mailed in 2001.Heine, one of the few scientists at the Army lab with the skills to grow large batches of anthrax, told ProPublica it would have taken around "100 liters of liquid anthrax culture," or more than 26 gallons, to grow all the dried spores that killed five Americans and infected 17 others.

"He couldn't have done that without us knowing it," said Heine.

Other biodefense scientists who didn't work with Ivins have done the same calculations and reached the same conclusion as Heine.

The FBI declined to comment on this latest challenge to its decision to end one of the most expensive manhunts in the bureau's 102-year history. In closing the case, the agency said Ivins alone was responsible for the anthrax letters. Ivins committed suicide in 2008.

Many of Ivins' colleagues and some federal lawmakers protested that the FBI was premature in closing the books on Ivins before the academy had completed its review of the science undergirding the bureau's case. "To this day, it is still far from clear that Mr. Ivins had either the know-how or access to the equipment needed to produce the material," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., in written remarks published in March.

The day Heine and his Fort Detrick colleagues learned of Ivins' suicide in July 2008, Heine said they conferred and feared the F.B.I. would then blame the attacks on someone who could no longer speak in his own defense. "And the very next day, the bureau named Bruce the mailer," Heine recalled.

Because of an FBI gag order, Heine said he was unable to discuss these details until he left his job at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, at Fort Detrick, where Ivins also worked developing anthrax vaccines. Heine left in February and is now senior scientist at the Ordway Research Institute, Inc. Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infections in Albany, N.Y.

Heine said his expertise in growing anthrax made him a suspect like Ivins. He said FBI agents gave him a polygraph exam and took statements from him several times between 2001 and 2003. The FBI was never far away, he said. A former scoutmaster, Heine said that on campouts his Boy Scout troop used to keep a "black Suburban watch," looking for the vehicles driven by the agents keeping Heine under surveillance.

"The FBI went after our weakest link," Heine said, referring to Ivins and other scientists at Fort Detrick, in Maryland. He called Ivins "fragile" and especially vulnerable to bureau attempts to extract a confession from him.

"If Bruce did it, we would've turned him in for a million dollars in a heartbeat," said Heine, referring to the government reward for information leading to the capture of the anthrax mailer. "Seriously, though, reward or no reward, we would've stopped him because that would've been the right thing to do."

The FBI linked Ivins to the crime, in part, because of a genetic match between the anthrax spores kept by Ivins and those in the letters. Documents released by the bureau said that samples of the same anthrax strain were shipped by Ivins to at least four different U.S. laboratories before the attacks.

That doesn't exonerate Ivins, Heine conceded, but he said Ivins' guilt is also far from certain. The spores in the anthrax letters were in a dry powder form that spread easily.

"When you dry spores, they fly everywhere and you can't see 'em," said Heine. "Had Bruce made it during all those late nights in the hot suite, we would've been his first victims."

Ohio Postal Worker Charged With Stealing Mail, Another With Gun Fraud  (Youngstown Vindicator, 4/22/2010)

Cleveland, OH--Two Mahoning Valley men have been indicted by federal grand juries, one accused of mail theft and the other accused of soliciting another to make false statements to a firearms dealer.

Nathan Burkhart, 26, of New Springfield, is charged with theft of mail by a postal employee and unauthorized opening of mail by a postal employee.

The indictment alleges that from September 2009 to February 2010, Burkhart, a city letter carrier assigned to the Youngstown processing and distribution center, stole first-class letters and their contents — 38 pieces of first-class mail and 13 standard-rate pieces of mail.

Brian Williams, 37, of Southington, is charged with soliciting another to make false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer for the acquisition of a firearm.

The investigation that led to Williams’ indictment was done by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Alabama Man Sentenced For Anthrax Hoax  (BioPrep Watch, 4/22/2010)

Birmingham, AL—A Haleyville, Alabama man has been sentenced by a federal judge to seven months in prison for sending a letter filled with white powder and photos of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to the Social Security Administration in Cullman.

Patrick Bryant Wilson, in addition to the seven month sentence, was also sentenced by U.S. District Judge Karon Bowdre to three years of supervised release and seven months of home confinement.

Wilson entered a plea agreement in December with the government.

Before the sentence was handed down, Judge Bowdre noted that Wilson's threats caused terror even though they did not cause physical harm. Such threats, Judge Bowdre said, are on the rise.

"People need to understand these are not silly, adolescent pranks," Judge Bowdrew said according to The Birmingham News. "They have very serious consequences for the individuals that receive them."

According to the December plea agreement, Wilson took a letter to the Cullman post office on Aug. 25 addressed to the Social Security Administration. Wilson's home was listed as the return address.

A postal worker saw that the letter was leaking white powder that was later determine to be baby powder. The letter also included two photos of the Twin Towers in flames.

Wilson's attorney, Don Colee, said that Wilson had applied for disability and was denied. Wilson was also unemployed at the time after losing his job as a regional manager when he got hurt.

"He became frustrated dealing with Social Security Disability Office and acted as he reflected in a 'stupid' manner by not only mailing the matters in the envelope but also making several phone calls as well," Colee said in a court filing.

Japan Bomb Squad Tests Suspicious Package Sent To Prime Minister  (AFP, 4/21/2010)

TOKYO — A Japanese police bomb squad was Friday investigating a mail package containing wires and batteries sent to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's office, but found no explosives, media reports said.

The Asahi TV network said investigators believed the security scare may have been "an evil-natured prank". No immediate confirmation was available from the premier's office or police.

The incident came as Hatoyama is struggling to boost his sagging ratings ahead of upper house elections due in July.

Hatoyama's centre-left party scored a landslide election victory last August, ending more than half a century of almost unbroken conservative rule in the world's number two economy.

But a poll last week showed voter support for his government, which topped 70 percent when it was launched, had sunk into the 20-percent band, in part because of a simmering row with Washington over a US airbase.

The premier has also come under attack over political donations scandals and the government's management of the economy.

Downtown Baton Rouge Fedex Building Evacuated  (Baton Rouge Advocate, 4/22/2010)

Baton Rouge, LA--A Federal Express building downtown was evacuated today after two employees had a physical reaction they believed was caused by a package dropped off at the store, according to a Baton Rouge police news release.

The incident occurred at the Federal Express building at 525 Florida Blvd. shortly before noon, the release says.

After an investigation by Baton Rouge Fire Department Hazmat teams, EMS and Police Department explosive technicians, no hazardous materials, residue or any other suspicious substances were found, the release says.

All air monitoring of the area was negative for any contaminants that could explain the employees’ reactions, the release says.

The building was reopened for business by 1:15 p.m., the release says.

Colleague Disputes Case Against Anthrax Suspect  (NY Times, 4/22/2010)

WASHINGTON — A former Army microbiologist who worked for years with Bruce E. Ivins, whom the F.B.I. has blamed for the anthrax letter attacks that killed five people in 2001, told a National Academy of Sciences panel on Thursday that he believed it was impossible that the deadly spores had been produced undetected in Dr. Ivins’s laboratory, as the F.B.I. asserts.

Asked by reporters after his testimony whether he believed that there was any chance that Dr. Ivins, who committed suicide in 2008, had carried out the attacks, the microbiologist, Henry S. Heine, replied, “Absolutely not.” At the Army’s biodefense laboratory in Maryland, where Dr. Ivins and Dr. Heine worked, he said, “among the senior scientists, no one believes it.”

Dr. Heine told the 16-member panel, which is reviewing the F.B.I.’s scientific work on the investigation, that producing the quantity of spores in the letters would have taken at least a year of intensive work using the equipment at the army lab. Such an effort would not have escaped colleagues’ notice, he added later, and lab technicians who worked closely with Dr. Ivins have told him they saw no such work.

He told the panel that biological containment measures where Dr. Ivins worked were inadequate to prevent the spores from floating out of the laboratory into animal cages and offices. “You’d have had dead animals or dead people,” he said.

The public remarks from Dr. Heine, two months after the Justice Department officially closed the case, represent a major public challenge to its conclusion in one of the largest, most politically delicate and scientifically complex cases in F.B.I. history.

The F.B.I. declined to comment on Dr. Heine’s remarks on Thursday. In its written summation of the case in February, the bureau said Dr. Ivins’s lab technicians grew anthrax spores that the technicians incorrectly believed were added to Dr. Ivins’s main supply flask. But the summary said the spores were never added to the flask, suggesting that surplus spores might have been diverted by Dr. Ivins for the letters.

Some scientists and members of Congress protested in February when the Justice Department closed the case, saying it should have waited for the academy panel’s conclusions. The F.B.I. asked the panel last year to review the bureau’s scientific work on the case, though not its conclusion on the perpetrator’s identity.

Members of the panel, whose chairwoman is Alice P. Gast, a chemical engineer and president of Lehigh University, declined to comment on Dr. Heine’s testimony or his remarks to reporters. The panel is expected to complete its report this fall.

Since shortly after Dr. Ivins took a lethal dose of Tylenol in July 2008 and the Justice Department first named him as the anthrax mailer, some former colleagues have rejected the F.B.I.’s conclusion and said they thought he was innocent. They have acknowledged, as Dr. Heine did on Thursday, that they wanted to clear the name of their friend and defend their laboratory, the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Dr. Heine said he had been treated as a suspect himself at one point and understood the pressure Dr. Ivins was under.

Asked why he was speaking out now, Dr. Heine noted that Army officials had prohibited comment on the case, silencing him until he left the government laboratory in late February. He now works for Ordway Research Institute in Albany.

Dr. Heine said he did not dispute that there was a genetic link between the spores in the letters and the anthrax in Dr. Ivins’s flask — a link that led the F.B.I. to conclude that Dr. Ivins had grown the spores from a sample taken from the flask. But samples from the flask were widely shared, Dr. Heine said. Accusing Dr. Ivins of the attacks, he said, was like tracing a murder to the clerk at the sporting goods shop who sold the bullets.

“Whoever did this is still running around out there,” Dr. Heine said. “I truly believe that.”

Alabama Man Gets 7 Months For Sending Fake Anthrax, Pictures Of 9/11 To Government Building  (AP, 4/21/2010)

CULLMAN, AL — A federal judge has sentenced a Haleyville man to seven months in prison after authorities say he mailed letter containing white powder and photos of the 9/11 attacks to the Social Security Administration in Cullman.

U.S. District Judge Karon Bowdre also sentenced 41-year-old Patrick Bryant Wilson to three years of supervised release, including seven months of home confinement.

According to a plea agreement, Wilson dropped off a letter Aug. 25 at the Cullman post office that was addressed to the Social Security Administration and listed Wilson's return address. A postal worker noticed it was leaking something later determined to be baby powder. The letter also included two photos of the Twin Towers burning.

His attorney says Wilson acted out of frustration with the Social Security Disability Office after being denied for benefits.

Baltimore Postal Supervisor Accused Of Stealing Gift Cards  (WBAL, 4/21/2010)

BALTIMORE, MD -- A U.S. Postal Service worker has been charged with theft after authorities said hundreds of gift cards were stolen, and many victims said they're hoping to get justice.

Andrew C. Walsh, 51, of Cockeysville, faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for theft of mail by a postal employee.

U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein and Joanne Yarbrough, of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Investigations, announced the arrest.

According to an affidavit, greeting cards at a processing and distribution center on East Fayette Street in Baltimore had been opened with their contents, including gift cards, cash and checks, removed numerous times since January.

"The recovered mail fluctuated between approximately 20 to 100 rifled greeting cards each night, totaling approximately 1,200 victims to date," according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Walsh was arrested Tuesday night, and authorities said about 450 stolen gift cards were recovered from his vehicle.

Officials said Walsh was an acting supervisor at the processing center and worked night shifts.

Investigators worked with victims whose mail had been rifled and identified Walsh as the suspect. Tavia Wright said she thinks she was a victim of the theft.

"I wound up getting a letter in the mail from them saying they were doing an investigation. They also sent me the ripped up envelope from the card that I sent," Wright told 11 News.

She said she became concerned after a friend she sent a gift card to never got it. She was contacted by the post office about it.

"I don't even want the money back. I just wanted the gift card so I can give it to my friend. It was a birthday gift," Wright said.

Walsh was released from custody Thursday. He'll be back in court May 12 for a preliminary hearing.

The Postal Inspection Service Mail Fraud Complaint Center has set up a hot line for anyone who thinks they're a victim. The number to call is 410-864-0508.

Florida Mailman Pleads Guilty To Snorting Cocaine, Delivering Drugs  (Orlando Sentinel, 4/22/2010)

Orlando, FL--An Osceola County mailman who was caught delivering packages full of drugs on his route — and snorting cocaine while driving his mail truck — pleaded guilty to three cocaine-related charges Thursday in Orlando federal court, court records show.

Juan Fonseca, 38, was accused of delivering tens of thousands of dollars worth of cocaine and marijuana from September through January.

His co-conspirator, Henry Fuentes-Morales, a 27-year-old former postal employee, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two cocaine-related charges for his role in the drug operation, records show.

Both men are to be sentenced July 21.

According to Fonseca's plea agreement, a federal postal inspector came across suspicious packages on Sept. 14 and Sept. 17, both of which were designated for an address on Philadelphia Circle in Kissimmee.

That address was on Fonseca's delivery route and was a vacant, "government/bank owned" property, the agreement stated.

The postal inspector obtained a search warrant for the two packages, which contained 24 and 22 pounds of marijuana, respectively.

In November, the inspector obtained another suspicious package, also to be delivered to a street on Fonseca's route. The postal inspector found about 2,000 grams of cocaine inside.

Postal inspectors then installed a camera on Fonseca's mail truck and captured video of Fonseca snorting cocaine and opening mail.

A criminal complaint filed in the case said other video showed Fonseca taking cash and a check from envelopes.

On Jan. 6, the postal inspector identified another suspicious package bound for Fonseca's mail route. The package, addressed to " Robert Anderson," was put back into the mail that Fonseca would pick up for delivery.

An agent with the Osceola County Investigative Bureau followed Fonseca and watched as he delivered the package, about one block from the neighborhood where it was supposed to go, to Fuentes-Morales.

When Fuentes-Morales accepted the package, he signed the name Robert Anderson instead of his own, the plea agreement said.

On Jan. 14, the inspector found another suspicious package addressed to a "Wallace Rogers."

The plea agreement said Fonseca took that package and delivered it to Fuentes-Morales.

The package had nearly 3,000 grams of cocaine in it, the plea agreement said.

After that delivery, agents arrested Fonseca and Fuentes-Morales.

Virginia Police Investigating Wiggling Package Find Ferret In The Mail    (Washington Post, 4/21/2010)

Roanoke, VA—“Stamps” the ferret was shipped from a Lynchburg post office in a cardboard box stuffed with food, toy cars and a doll. The destination was a town near San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Stamps may have made it there -- had he stopped wiggling.

A postal inspector, David McKinney, got the call about it at his Roanoke office on the afternoon of Monday, April 5, hours after Stamps and the package had been deposited and $63.55 was paid for overnight delivery.

“The box was dropped off at 2 p.m., and it started moving about 5 p.m.,” McKinney said. “Periodically, it would just vibrate. The postal workers put their hand on the box and it kind of freaked them out.”

The person who sent the package did not want the world to know who he was. He signed his name as John Diaz, from Appomattox, and he used every trick employed by people sending illegal packages.

But McKinney simply wanted to return the box and tell the sender what animals could and could not be mailed -- chicks in well-marked, ventilated overnight boxes, for example, are allowed. He called 411 and looked in a database for Diaz and the addressee, a Karlo Rosa who lives in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. No luck.

McKinney took the package that night and drove it to the return address, where he found an empty rural ranch-style house. A real estate agent told him the house was for sale, and neighbors told him they had never heard of John Diaz and that the house had been vacant for more than a year.

The next morning, McKinney got a search warrant from the U.S. District Court in Roanoke and asked officers from Roanoke Police Department's animal control unit and the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to open the box.

“I thought, 'I'm not opening that thing.' It was moving, and whatever was in it wanted to come out,” McKinney said.

Inside the 10-pound, 13-by-13-inch box they found a wire cage, a 1-pound salt-and-pepper ferret, two toy cars, a green-haired doll, a box of Benadryl with one tablet missing, a bag of food for ferrets and a box of dietary supplements for ferrets, according to the search warrant return.

McKinney was glad it wasn't a snake. In April 2007, someone mailed an 8-foot python from the same Lynchburg post office, and it slithered out of the package while in transit.

McKinney took the ferret to the Roanoke Regional Center for Animal Control and Protection, where the fur ball stayed 13 days. On Monday he was moved to the Roanoke Valley SPCA, where attendants started calling him Stamps and he was put up for adoption.

“You'd be surprised. Some people just have a thing for ferrets,” said Bill Watson, executive director of the Roanoke Valley SPCA.

Indeed. Stamps clawed Wednesday onto the polo shirt of a ferret fan, Craig Bradley, who paid the $25 adoption fee and took him home to join the 16 ferrets in his house near Bonsack. (Bradley and his wife are co-founders of the Big Lick Ferret Shelter & Hospice.)

“I don't understand why someone would put a ferret in the mail,” Bradley said.

That's something McKinney couldn't figure out, either. But this much is true: According to Puerto Rico's Department of Environmental and Natural Resources, ferrets are illegal on the island.

Fraud Probe Launched Into Hand-Held Bomb Detectors Sold To Iraq That 'Do Not Work'  (Daily Mail, 4/21/2010)

UK--The director of a security firm is at the center of a fraud probe, amid allegations that millions of pounds worth of bomb detectors his company sold to Iraq do not work.

Jim McCormick, 53, managing director of Somerset-based business ATSC, was arrested on suspicion of fraud in January after a BBC investigation alleged the ADE651 device, exported to 20 countries, was ineffective.

The British Government recently banned its export to Iraq and Afghanistan, saying tests showed it was 'not suitable for bomb detection'.

McCormick was held for several hours by Avon and Somerset police after answering bail yesterday. Today he was re-bailed to a date in July.

The ADE651 was reportedly in use at most checkpoints in Baghdad after the Iraqi government spent £52 million on the hand-held detectors.

In the past year hundreds of people have died after car bombers were able to penetrate the security cordon protecting the centre of the Iraqi capital.

The device consists of a swiveling aerial mounted to a hinge on a hand-grip. The manufacturer says it works on the same principle as a dowsing rod.

Lord Mandelson's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Bis) announced the ban on the ADE651 after an investigation for BBC2's Newsnight challenged the scientific basis for the technology it uses.

Britain's embassy in Baghdad raised concerns over the hand-held device with prime minister Nouri al-Maliki.

In a statement, Bis had said: 'Tests have shown that the technology used in the ADE651 and similar devices is not suitable for bomb detection.

'As non-military technology, it does not need an export license, and we would not normally need to monitor its sale and use abroad. However, it is clearly of concern that it is being used as bomb detection equipment.'

Lord Mandelson's department is to make an order under the Export Control Act 2002, banning the export of devices of this type to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Avon and Somerset Police chief constable Colin Port ordered the investigation, a force spokeswoman said.

ATSC, with offices in a converted former dairy at Sparkford, was founded in 1997, describing itself as a manufacturer, distributor and exporter.

Advertising the ADE651 on the internet, the company described the device as an 'explosives and drugs detector for use in secure environments, government buildings, airport authorities, etc.

'Can detect explosives or narcotics even if hidden inside containers, frozen fish, airtight containers and the human body.

'Do not compromise with imitations... come direct to the manufacturers.'

The devices, costing several thousand pounds each, can be delivered within four weeks, the manufacturer said.

Suspicious Package Sent to Virginia Senator Prompts Evacuation  (Richmond Times Dispatch, 4/20/2010)

Richmond, VA--An East Franklin Street building was evacuated this morning after an employee discovered what Virginia State Police called a "suspicious package" addressed to Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va.

State Police are now investigating the package, which was found inside the building on East Franklin Street between North Seventh and North Eighth streets, said state police Sgt. Thomas Molnar.

Police were summoned about 9:20 a.m.

Molnar said it appears someone left the package at the wrong building because the senator's office is about two blocks away.

Molnar declined to describe the package or its contents, other than to call it suspicious. "At the scene, it did not appear to be a threat," he said.

Molnar also would not say whether the package contained any threatening message, citing the ongoing investigation.

"It was analyzed at the scene and removed from the scene," he said.

Bomb Squad Called To Pennsylvania Post Office  (CBS 21, 4/20/2010)

Dauphin County, PA--Federal investigators are looking into a suspicious package at a Dauphin County post office.

A postal worker discovered it last night at the post office on Crooked Hill Road in Susquehanna Township.

Officials didn't evacuate the building during the incident, but the State Police bomb squad was called in to handle the package.

The squad detonated it, and determined that it wasn't a bomb, but investigators say they still don't know exactly what was inside the package.

U of New Hampshire Building Reopens After Months Of Closure From Anthrax (Fosters Daily Democrat, 4/17/2010)

DURHAM, NH — The beat is back at The Waysmeet Center.

Students and staff were able to re-enter the center on Friday, nearly four months after anthrax was detected and a Strafford County woman fell gravely ill after attending a Dec. 4 drum circle. The center houses the United Campus Ministry at the University of New Hampshire.

Just after noon, the Rev. Larry Brickner-Wood, the ministry's executive director, signed an order releasing the building from the Department of Health and Human Services back to the ministry. Then he turned his attention to peeling away months-old duct tape around the quarantine order on the front door.

"We're absolutely certain it's safe to enter," said Dr. Jodie Dionne-Odom, the deputy state epidemiologist.

Inside, tables, chairs and a West African Djembe Drum were stacked in the middle of the community room. Visitors, including a handful of reporters, were met by the smell of cleaning agents that dissipated once a few windows were cracked.

"It's nice to see some drums," the Rev. Brickner-Wood said.

It wasn't long before he was prodded to pick up the drum. Ministry drummers typically don't play solo since the circles are a community affair — more ritual than performance — but the beat had returned.

Life was getting back to normal, and the eight students who live there were eager to get back to their rooms.

"It's been a tough ordeal," the Rev. Brickner-Wood said. "Not as tough for us as the young woman, but she's recovering ... and we're so thankful for that."

State and federal officials became aware of the woman's condition just before Christmas. She recently returned home from the hospital, and she's "walking around and talking and able to answer questions, and that's wonderful," Dionne-Odom said. It's too early, however, "to say for sure what her long-term" prognosis will be.

Environmental cleanup teams scrubbed the entire building between March 22 and April 14. Anthrax spores were found throughout the building, including on electrical outlets and two animal hide-covered drums that carried the naturally occurring anthrax.

The drum that tested positive for the same anthrax that infected the woman was "beheaded," scrubbed with special solution and discarded, Dionne-Odom said.

Dionne-Odom said the cleanup took longer than anticipated because of the rarity of the event. "If you look at the reports for gastrointestinal anthrax in the United States you find nothing," she said.

Officials still believe the woman swallowed anthrax spores during a "brief aerosolization" event amid "vigorous drumming," Dionne-Odom said. It remains unclear why the woman did not contract inhalation anthrax, which also can be fatal, she said. About 80 other people were present that night.

The Rev. Brickner-Wood praised federal and state officials for their assistance. Now that the center has reopened, "we'll be doing what we've always been doing," including operating the Cornucopia Food Pantry there, he said.

The infected woman did not regularly attend drum circles there but "she, like anyone, is always welcome and if she wants to be here we'd love to have her," he said.

The Rev. Brickner-Wood did not hide his displeasure with Church Mutual Insurance Company, which insures the center.

"Their behavior has been reprehensible in the whole process and they're not covering a thing and they should be ashamed of themselves," he said.

The cleanup cost $50,000 but the entire ordeal cost about $90,000 between damaged computers, furniture and piano, the Rev. Brickner-Wood said. "We're still challenging the insurance company about their denial of coverage," he said. "Essentially they're saying there was bacteria and they don't cover bacteria."

The Rev. Brickner-Wood said he isn't worried people will stay away for fear of contamination.

"Some people may never come back or never come in. I suspect the folks who have been here will come back," he said.

Package With Suspicious White Powder Sent To E-Trade Office in New Jersey   (The Jersey Journal, 4/16/2010)

Jersey City, NJ--A package that authorities say contains a suspicious white powder was delivered to an office in Downtown Jersey City today, an official said.

Jersey City Fire Department and its Hazardous Materials unit are at the scene.  Hazmat members have been entering the building in full body suits. There are at least 10 fire department vehicles at the scene.

The package was delivered to an E*Trade office on the fourth floor at the Harborside Financial Center, at 34 Exchange Place. The suspicious package was reported shortly after noon today. The people in that office have been evacuated, Jersey City Fire Director Armando Roman said, but the entire building has not been evacuated.

Another Threat Letter From Encana Bomber Received By British Columbia Paper  (CBC News, 4/15/2010)

A northeastern B.C. newspaper has received another letter claiming to be from a bomber who has targeted EnCana facilities, with an ominous warning that "a long hot summer is coming."

A northeastern B.C. newspaper has received another letter claiming to be from a bomber who has targeted EnCana facilities, with an ominous warning that "a long hot summer is coming."

Dan Przybylski, publisher of the Dawson Creek Daily News, said the latest letter is vastly different from two previous letters and he has turned it over to the RCMP who will try to determine if it is another hoax.

Przybylski said the most recent letter was typed, rather than being handwritten like the previous two letters received by the newspaper.

RCMP Sgt. Rob Vermeulen said the newspaper has already received one letter that was determined to be a hoax by police.

"We're not going to speculate at this point whether it's authentic or not, but investigators are working to determine that," said Vermeulen.

The most recent letter said the "time-out is over" - perhaps referring to a previous letter which called for a "break" in the activity - and warns "the long and 'hot' summer is coming," according to reports.

The letter states there will be "actions against installations" owned by oil and gas giant EnCana and taunts the police for the failure of their previous investigations.

Since October 2008 there have been six bombings of oil and gas facilities in northeastern B.C., and despite offers of a $1 million reward, police have laid no charges in the cases.

A recent search of Alberta resident Wiebo Ludwig's home failed to lead to any charges as well.

Many residents in northeastern B.C. and Alberta have expressed concern that the toxic sour gas wells and pipeline operated by EnCana pose a health risk to residents and livestock.

Anthrax Hoaxer in California Indicted On New Threat Charges  (San Francisco Chronicle, 4/17/2010)

LIVERMORE, CA --A Livermore man who was convicted of threatening to release anthrax in the Oakland federal building in 1999 has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that he made another threat, court records show.

Charles Redden, 41, mailed a threat to an undisclosed party June 16 and did so again Jan. 4, said the indictment handed down Thursday by a federal grand jury in San Francisco. No further details were released in the indictment, which accuses Redden of two counts of mailing threatening communications.

Redden was convicted of making a biological-weapons threat and sentenced in 2002 to five years in federal prison. Prosecutors said he telephoned the Oakland court clerk's office from the Alameda County Jail in January 1999 and warned that he planned to spread anthrax in the federal building's air-conditioning system.

Exonerated Anthrax Suspect: FBI Harassed Me  (MSNBC, 4/16/2010)

The man falsely accused by the FBI of sending letters laced with deadly anthrax spores has received a big settlement from the government, but never an apology for destroying his life.

What’s more, Dr. Steven J. Hatfill told TODAY’s Matt Lauer during his first interview since the September 2001 attacks, neither the Justice Department nor the FBI has been held accountable for breaking the law and lying in their pursuit of him.

“I love my country,” Hatfill, 56, told Lauer. But, he added, “I learned a couple things. The government can do to you whatever they want. They can break the laws, federal laws, as they see fit … You can’t turn laws on and off as you deem fit. And the Privacy Act laws were put in place specifically to stop what happened to me. Whether we’re at war or have been attacked, the foundation of society is that you hold to the laws in place. I used to be somebody that trusted the government. Now I really don't trust anything.”

 “Did they ever apologize?” Lauer asked.

“No, they don’t do that. My father asked them, very early on in the investigation. He said, ‘When all this is over, and you find that my son had nothing to do with this, are you going to apologize?’ And Bob Roth says, ‘No, we don't do that,’ ” Hatfill said, referring to the FBI’s lead investigator in the case, Bob Roth.

“We’ll send Martha Stewart to jail for making false statements. What about these senior people? Nothing’s happening. Is the Justice Department incapable of regulating itself? Without strong regulation, the privileges we give them to investigate us, to conduct their normal anti-crime things, can spiral out of control.”

Hatfill said that at his worst, while unable to get a job and living with his girlfriend, he turned to drink, the glass of wine he took to help him relax turning into two glasses and more.

“I’ve been in a lot of stressful situations over the years. And it ends. This didn’t end. It kept going, going, going, getting worse, worse, worse,” he said of the investigation.

The anthrax attacks began in September 2001, a week after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Letters filled with deadly anthrax spores began arriving at media outlets and at the offices of federal lawmakers. Five people would die in the attacks, and at least 17 others would be infected. Among those to whom letters were addressed was NBC’s Tom Brokaw.

In 2008, the government would finally settle with Hatfill for $5.8 million, although a Justice Department spokesperson said the department “does not admit to any violation of the Privacy Act and continues to deny all liability in connection with Dr. Hatfill’s claims.”

Another researcher, Bruce Edwards Ivins, was identified as the prime suspect. Ivins committed suicide after his name was made public.

In 2001, the immediate assumption was that the anthrax attacks were orchestrated by al-Qaida. Amid intense media attention, investigators attempted to determine the source of the letters.

As someone who was working on biological warfare-related projects for a defense contractor, Hatfill, a respected researcher, said he expected to be among those questioned. So he wasn’t surprised when agents came by to ask him a few questions.

Eventually, they asked if they could take a look at his apartment in Frederick, Md.

“I’m cooperating. I didn’t get a lawyer or anything,” Hatfill told Lauer. He said agents asked to swab surfaces in the apartment and promised, “It’ll be very discreet, quiet.”

“Sure,” he replied. “Knock yourself out.”

But when Hatfill walked out of his apartment with the agents, “there were already news cameras filming me walking to the car.” Overhead, helicopters hovered taking aerial footage. “I was really angry,” he said.

Hatfill cooperated fully in the early stages because he had nothing to hide. He even took a polygraph test, even though he knew that polygraphs are not reliable and sometimes return false positive results.

In July 2002, Hatfill was named a “person of interest” by Attorney General John Ashcroft.

As Hatfill found himself vilified in the media, his anger grew. He told Lauer he blamed the media for the false reports about him, not understanding that the media was reporting false information that came from anonymous government sources.

“I didn’t know this at the time. I just thought it was the press sensationalizing things. It wasn’t till much, much later we learned that it was actually intentionally done by the Justice Department,” Hatfill said.

Hatfill said he survived only because he had faithful friends who refused to abandon him, even when ordered to by the FBI.

“I was fortunate that I had a band of brothers and they never left my side. I still work with them to this day. Patriots, soldiers, highly decorated men. And that gives you the strength, just to be in their company, to carry on.”

He is angry that the government feels that it can tell people to abandon their friends.

“I don’t know of any law that permits the FBI to go by your closest friends and say, ‘You’re not to associate with Dr. Hatfill.’ What they’re trying to do is socially isolate you as part of the stress.”

Postmaster General Says USPS Could Cut Its Workforce  (Washington Post, 4/16/2010)

As Postmaster General John E. Potter met with lawmakers Thursday to discuss his plans for restructuring the U.S. Postal Service, he acknowledged that the mail agency could further reduce its workforce.

Asked by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) whether postal employees at all levels were being fully utilized, Potter said, "The answer is no, but are we operating in an optimum world? The answer is no."

Potter appeared before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to defend his call for greater flexibility to cut Saturday mail delivery, raise postage rates and potentially close or consolidate thousands of post offices. The proposal also calls for cutting tens of thousands of jobs through attrition and layoffs. The Postal Service stands to lose about $238 billion in the next 10 years if Congress fails to act, Potter said.

"We do have a very aggressive plan that's been laid out and shared," Potter said, noting that he has tried to make other cuts but is "often constrained by folks getting involved and suggesting to us that we don't do it, including some of the folks in the Congress."

Though no lawmaker wholeheartedly endorsed all of Potter's ideas, as a group they seemed eager to address the impending financial shortfall.

"The one thing we believe we are all in agreement on is that doing nothing is no longer a viable option," said Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D-Mass.).

But how the Postal Service should change remains open to debate.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said he would introduce legislation allowing Potter to establish a panel, similar to the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, to independently assess which post offices should close. He has also proposed establishing at least eight postal holidays during slow periods instead of cutting Saturday deliveries.

"To say that we're going to eliminate 52 days of service is not necessarily going to drive volume forward," Chaffetz said. "I don't think eliminating Saturday delivery before the Christmas holiday is necessarily wise."

Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Ruth Y. Goldway, whose panel will issue a nonbinding opinion on Potter's plans later this year, criticized the idea of moving post offices into supermarkets or pharmacies.

"Ask the small towns of America if they think government business should be conducted in Wal-Marts," she said. "Why would any rational person compare the function of a post office to Wal-Mart, as the Postal Service consultants did?"

Goldway urged the Postal Service to convert its 220,000-vehicle fleet to run on electricity, provide more government services at post offices, open a 24-hour post office in every major city and partner with the Census Bureau to conduct the 2020 Census.

"Improvements that may seem small can create the incremental reinvigoration that begets real growth," Goldway said.

Chaffetz later criticized Goldway's "very subjective" comments, saying she improperly offered her personal opinions before the commission's final report had been completed.

Potter also asked lawmakers to address recent findings by the postal inspector general that the mail agency overpaid the Civil Service Retirement System by $75 billion. Refunding the entire overpayment would ease the agency's financial woes but would not fully close the gap, Potter said.

A Senate subcommittee is set to meet Thursday to consider Potter's plans.

Connecticut Hospital Handles White Powder Scare  (New Haven Register, 4/15/2010)

NEW HAVEN, CT -- The police and fire departments responded to a hazmat situation at the Hospital of Saint Raphael Thursday morning but the white powdery substance that caused alarm ended up being harmless.

Fire Chief Michael Grant said approximately six people -- including two Woodbridge police officers -- were decontaminated as a precaution as firefighters tried to assess the situation.

The incident began when a man was brought from a medical facility in Woodbridge and someone noticed a white substance on him, he said.

Two Woodbridge officers, who assisted in the transport, were exposed to the substance, he said, so they were treated along with the others as a precaution.

Members of the Police Department’s emergency services unit responded as well to “make safe” the officers’ weapons, said New Haven Sgt. Pete Moller.

An ESU member was suiting up when firefighters determined the origin of the substance shortly after noon. They learned that it was a medical powder.

The situation did not affect operations in either the emergency room or the rest of the hospital, he said.

Brazilian Police Detonate Suspected Parcel Bomb Sent To Venezuela's Consulate (El Universal, 4/14/2010)

Rio de Janeiro--A Brazilian anti-bomb squad induced on Wednesday a controlled detonation of a suspected parcel bomb which had been sent to the Venezuelan Consulate in Rio de Janeiro, located in a building where other consular offices are situated.

The package arrived at the consulate on Wednesday morning along with the rest of the mail. In opening the box, a secretary found a note written in Portuguese. It said that inside the package there was an explosive device. The notice urged the consular officers to call the police, said the Venezuelan mission.

Édgar González, the Venezuelan consul in Rio de Janeiro, said that there were other phrases written in the note, but the police officers took the package to detonate it outside Venezuela's consulate. González acknowledged that he had not time to read the note.

A visibly distraught Consul said: "We do not know the purpose of this action."

Trial Proceeds for UK Teenager Arrested With Father in Possession of Ricin  (BBC News, 4/13/2010)

A 19-year-old white supremacist from County Durham was behind a neo-Nazi group which wanted to overthrow the government, a court has been told.

Nicky Davison, from Annfield Plain, is accused of being part of the Aryan Strike Force, a far right online group which involved his father, Ian.

Mr Davison has denied three charges of possessing information useful in committing terrorist acts.

Newcastle Crown Court heard Ian Davison had admitted possessing ricin poison.

Prosecutor Andrew Edis said: "Nicky Davison was associated with a group who were prepared to do what they called 'ops', in other words, paramilitary activity, and were in the early stages of preparation."

The teenager's 41-year-old father has already admitted six charges, including producing ricin, one of the world's deadliest substances.

Mr Edis added: "The Aryan Strike Force was set up to advance the aims of white supremacy in these islands and fight what they call 'Zog', which means Zionist Occupied Government.

"They are strongly against the government because their theory is that it has been taken over by the Jews and therefore must be resisted by white supremacists.

"Simply having white supremacist views is not what Mr Davison is charged with. What he's charged with is taking things a step further."

“ We will develop active street crews in every town to deal with the insurgents. We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children ”

Extract from Aryan Strike Force website

Jurors were told that in June last year police discovered copies of The Poor Man's James Bond and The Anarchist's Cookbook on computers at the County Durham home the accused shared with his mother and younger brother.

Mr Edis said they showed how to make letter bombs, explosives, detonators, grenades, silencers and poisons.

The court heard the accused used the nickname "Thorburn1488" - which was a collaboration of well-known neo-Nazi references - and helped his father administer the Aryan Strike Force website.

The website's mission statement said the group's aims were to "bring all national socialists, nationalists, racists and fascists together or people who consider themselves national socialists".

It went on: "We will develop active street crews in every town to deal with the insurgents.

"We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children."

Jurors were also shown DVDs of videos posted on the website, which included images of a training camp held in Cumbria early last year.

A handful of people could be seen dressed in balaclavas carrying Nazi flags and giving Heil Hitler salutes.

Mr Davison, of Grampian Way, Anfield Plain, denies three charges of possessing a record containing information useful in committing or preparing acts of terrorism.

His father Ian, of Myrtle Grove, Burnopfield, County Durham, will be sentenced at the conclusion of the trial.

The case continues.

9-Volt Battery Used To Power Parcel Bomb, Say Indian Police  (Indian Express, 4/14/2010)

New Delhi, India--Investigations into Monday’s parcel bomb incident have revealed that a nine-volt Nippo battery was used to power the explosive.

A 40-year-old visa consultant, Mohammad Uzair, was injured when the bomb that was wrapped in a parcel exploded after he opened it. The incident was reported from the Shaheen Bagh area in Jamia Nagar.

A case of attempted murder under the Explosive Substance Act has been registered at the Jamia Nagar police station after Uzair’s  personal accountant Ijaz Ahmad gave a statement.

The police are yet to record Uzair’s statement. He has not been declared fit to give statement by the doctors yet, the police said. A doctor at the AIIMS, where Uzair’s is admitted, said, “His condition is stable. He has injuries on his face and eyes, which will make it difficult for him to talk.”

Explaining the mechanism of the explosive device, a senior police officer said, “It is essentially a pressure bomb. As soon as a person opens such a bomb, a pressure is created, which ignites the battery inside. Screws and sharp glass pieces explode with the aid of an explosive liquid.”

The police said the crude bomb was packed tightly in a size-eight shoe box (9”x5”x3”), which was wrapped in a pink chart paper.

Police officials said the material used in the bomb — screws, wires, chart paper — are easily available at any hardware store, making the task of investigators harder.

According to the FIR, Ahmed told the police an unidentified man on a motorcycle stopped outside the under-construction building Uzair was supervising. The man, who was reportedly “in his early 40s, wheatish in complexion, five feet nine inches tall, well-built, had thick black moustache and dressed in shirt and pant”, asked for Uzair.

“He told me he had come from Laxmi Nagar to deliver a parcel to Uzair. He told me one Ashad Ashri had sent him. I took the ploythene cover, which contained the parcel, from him and asked him to wait outside. When I delivered the packet to Uzair sahib, he asked me to call the messenger. When I went there, he was gone,” Ijaz said in his police complaint.

The police said one Ashad Ashri is the brother-in-law of Uzair and is settled in Saudi Arabia.

The bomb exploded as soon as Uzair opened the parcel injuring his face, palms and upper torso, the police said. Ijaz was about “12 feet away when the parcel exploded”.

As the sender of parcel knew Uzair’s address, the location of the building that he was supervising and his relatives, the police suspect the accused is someone close to the family.

According to the police, the victim’s brother-in-law, whose name was cited by the man who delivered the parcel, reportedly has a property dispute with Uzair.

The clothes that Uzair was wearing have been sent for forensic examination, the police said.

The police said Uzair has multiple businesses of construction and property dealing. He also owns a company, Al-Hind Foreign Service Agency, which supplies manpower to construction companies in the Gulf region.

Aviation Musem in Indiana Reopens After Anthrax Scare  (Newslink Indiana, 4/13/2010)

Muncie, IN--The National Aviation Museum in Muncie has reopened its doors after a serious scare.

Last Friday morning, a mail clerk opened a letter at the headquarters for the Academy of Model Aeronautics only to find a white substance inside.

The academy closed for one day as a precaution, and officials at the academy said that no one was harmed from the substance.

"We're mostly disturbed at losing a day and a half of work and servicing our members," said the academy's PR representative. "But, mostly, were very relieved that it turned out to be a benign incident."

The Indianapolis Field Office of the said these instances are common.

"Unfortunately, these kinds of letters are common throughout the United States," FBI spokesperson Drew Northern said. "Individuals who are found to have sent a hoax letter could be subject to arrest and prosecution."

The FBI would not comment on if there are any leads in the case because it is an ongoing investigation.

The FBI said if you have any information about the suspicious letter sent to the Academy of Model Aeronautics contact the FBI Office in Muncie or the Delaware County Sheriff's Office.

Florida HAZMAT Exercise Simulates Mail Terror Attack   (WALA, 4/13/2010)

NAS PENSACOLA, FL-- The scenario: A suspicious package was found at the post office. It was opened and white powder flew everywhere.

"This is a chemical, biological, nuclear exercise." said Scott Halford with NAS Pensacola.

Hazmat crews didn't know what they were dealing with, so they had to test for everything. Once they eliminated that it was an explosive or a chemical substance, they started testing to see if it was something like anthrax or H1N1.

If anyone was within a hundred yards of the building, they were in what was considered the hotzone. They had to be decontaminated, then be taken to either a hospital or medical personnel on the scene.

"It brings together several agencies on base, security, fire, safety, and environmental. You don't know when something like this may really happen." said Halford.

The goal is to sort out any problems during a practice scenario, rather than during a real emergency.

Texas Police Station White Powder Scare Turns Out To Be Candy  (WOAI News, 4/13/2010)

SAN ANTONIO, TX - A police substation was evacuated after a scare over a suspicious white powder. It turns out it was just candy.

Hazmat crews were called out to the Prue Road Police Substation on the Northwest Side after a Star Furniture employee brought in the suspicious envelope. It came from one of their vendors.

Police say someone was probably just eating candy when stuffing envelopes during a mass mailing

One Injured In Parcel Bomb Explosion In India  (Press Trust, 4/12/2010)

New Delhi: A 45-year-old man was injured today after a crude bomb kept in a gift box he received from an unknown person exploded as soon as he opened it at his residence in South-east Delhi.

The incident took place in Shaheenbagh area of Jamia Nagar at around 4 pm and the victim has been identified as Mohammad Uzair, a manpower supplier and visa arranger for job aspirants.

A man came to Uzair's residence this evening and handed over a gift packet to him saying that a relative from Saudi Arabia had sent it to him, a senior police official said.

Before Uzair could ask him about the gift or any other details the man left the house, police said.

"Soon after he handed over the packet the unidentified man left the place without answering any of the queries raised by Uzair. The victim opened the box and suddenly it exploded, injuring his face and hands," he said.

A detailed analysis of the packet revealed it was a crude bomb with some wires attached to it, the official said.

Police have ruled out that the parcel was sent through a courier company as the examination of the box revealed no names of the sender or address of the receiver.

Uzair was rushed to AIIMS where he is undergoing treatment and his condition is stated to be stable.

Asked about the motive behind the incident, the official said they were investigating all angles including personal enmity.

"We are talking to his family and friends to know whether he has personal rivalry with anyone. We are not ruling out any possibility. Investigations are in the preliminary stage," the official said.

Forensic experts will examine the parcel to ascertain the intensity as well as which chemicals were used to make the parcel bomb, the official said.

Aeronautics Academy in Indiana Evacuated For Anthrax Scare  (Star Press, 4/13/2010)

MUNCIE -- Whatever the white powder was that someone mailed to the Academy of Model Aeronautics, it wasn't anthrax, authorities said Monday.

The powder arrived Friday in an envelope postmarked from Alabama, leading AMA to evacuate its facility east of Muncie on Memorial Drive.

AMA administrators decided to reopen Monday morning.

Executive Director Jim Cherry said the organization was pretty certain the powder was a hoax, especially after the mail clerk who opened the letter failed to develop any symptoms of illness over the weekend.

"All these reports across the nation are turning into hoaxes, so we felt very comfortable coming back into work," Cherry said. "If there was anything nasty, we would have felt it by now."

Later that day, Delaware County Sheriff George Sheridan confirmed for Cherry that the powder was not anthrax, Cherry said.

Officials still don't know what exactly the powder was, although they believe it was benign.

The powder is being analyzed at the State Police laboratory in Indianapolis.

With the exact identity of the substance unknown, Delaware County EMA Director Jason Rogers suggested AMA clean the affected areas with a bleach solution.

Cherry said AMA decided not to conduct a cleanup because they were confident the substance wasn't harmful. He also added that the mail clerk who opened the envelope walked throughout the building and that a thorough cleanup would have been difficult.

"We really didn't have anything to clean up other than the fear factor," Cherry said.

Envelope With Suspicious White Powder Found At Federal Reserve Bank in Montana  (Independent Record, 4/12/2010)

Helena, MT--Authorities are investigating a suspicious white powdery substance workers found Monday afternoon leaking out of an envelope that had been sent to the Federal Reserve Bank on Neill Avenue.

Police were called to the scene about 1:20 p.m., according to Assistant Chief Dave Jeseritz.

Several employees who handled the envelope were moved to a different part of the building, but the building was not evacuated. A hazardous-materials team with the Helena Fire Department was dispatched to the scene.

Helena Police Department Lt. Steve Hagen said the powder is being tested at the state health department lab in Helena.

“Due to the suspicious nature of the envelope, it was seen as a threat,” Hagen said.

Federal Reserve President Paul Drake said an initial analysis showed no hazardous material.

“They’re doing some further analysis, and safety is of course paramount to us,” he said.

Drake said the envelope was not opened by bank employees.

Investigators declined to say whether the envelope had a return address, what kind of envelope it was or whether it contained anything other than the powder.

Last month, an envelope containing a white powder was sent to the state Department of Labor and Industry. The substance was later found to be a pain-reliever tablet inadvertently placed into a letter and reduced to powder before the letter reached its destination.

Suspicious White Powder Sent to Maryland Census Office  (AP, 4/12/2010)

ESSEX, Md. - A fire official says one person has been transported to the hospital after a white powder was discovered at a Maryland building that processes census forms.

Baltimore County Fire Department Lt. John Milby says crews spent about 3 1/2 hours on scene and collected some of the material to be tested at a later date. He said that there were "some reports of some skin irritation."

Milby says officials got a 911 call at 11 o'clock. He said it was not clear what symptoms the person who was transported to the hospital had.

Fire officials left the building at about 2:30 p.m.

Suspicious Package With Powder Triggers Scare at U.S. Attorney’s Office in Phoenix   (Phoenix Business Journal, 4/12/2010)

Phoenix, AZ--The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Phoenix said Monday that the suspicious package it received in the mail contained white powder is not dangerous.

“A suspicious package containing a small amount of white powder was received at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Phoenix at approximately 11 a.m. today. City of Phoenix fire, police and hazmat team responded. The reception floor of the office was briefly evacuated. The substance has been tested and presented no danger to employees or to the public. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is conducting an investigation into the matter,” said Wyn Hornbuckle, a spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office.

The parcel resulted in federal and local police and fire agencies closing off a section of Adams Street in between Central and First avenues in downtown Phoenix for a time. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is located a the Renaissance Square office tower in downtown Phoenix.

The package was screened via an X-ray machine where its suspicious nature was first detected.

Package That Cleared Businesses In Boulder Warehouse Sent From China  (Denver Post, 4/12/2010)

A package mailed to a Boulder business which caused two businesses to be evacuated was sent from China, according to Boulder police.

Boulder Police Department spokeswoman Sarah Huntley said no criminal wrongdoing is suspected because the Boulder business, The Iron Man, had used the Chinese distributor before.

However, Huntley said Hazmat crews from the Boulder Fire Department still have no idea what kind of chemicals were contained in the box.

The box arrived Friday and was opened by employees. The company had not ordered the chemicals.

When the employees returned this morning, the fumes from the chemicals were very strong. Authorities were called at 9:45 a.m. today.

Huntley said that Hazmat crews have determined that the chemicals are not explosive, not flammable, and contain no compounds that could cause respiratory problems.

She said Hazmat crews are still at the scene ventilating two businesses — Iron Man and the adjacent Boulder Velodrome, an indoor bicycle track.

Huntley said that Iron Man will hire a private company which will do additional testing to determine exactly what the chemicals are and take care of disposal.

The Iron Man and the Boulder Velodrome are located at 3550 Frontier Ave., near the intersection of Pearl and Foothills parkways in east Boulder.

A total of 16 employees from both businesses were evacuated and were not able to return to work today.

None required medical attention.

No streets in the industrial area have been closed but one parking lot is blocked off.

Boston Police Department Powder Mail Threat Probed  (Boston Herald, 4/10/2010)

Boston, MA--Envelopes holding what officials feared was a toxic brown powder - but proved to be ground tea leaves - arrived in the mail yesterday at five Boston police precinct stations - causing one to be evacuated as a hazmat team examined the package, authorities said.

Boston Police Department spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said detectives identified a suspect, but she could not say how they traced the envelopes to the man, whose identity was shared with U.S. Postal Inspectors leading the probe.

Police declined to release his name or say whether the envelopes contained letters, but a law enforcement source said, “He’s in a hospital in Massachusetts being treated for mental illness.”

Driscoll said District 4 in the Back Bay was the first to receive one of the white, legal-size envelopes with what “looked like a brown, crushed powder” inside, prompting officers there to call for a Fire Department hazmat team to respond shortly after 10 a.m.

“Due to the uncertainty we chose to evacuate the building. We were able to quickly assess the situation and determined a person of interest,” Driscoll said, adding that by early afternoon similar envelopes had been delivered at districts 11 in Dorchester, 18 in Hyde Park, 14 in Brighton and 7 in East Boston.

“Once we determined that specific lead, the threat level decreased and therefore we did not need to evacuate at the other districts,” she added.

Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said a meter used by the hazmat technicians at District 4 did not detect any poisonous gases. He said they transported the package to the state lab in Jamaica Plain.

“The substance was analyzed and deemed not to be harmful. It is believed to be ground tea leaves,” Driscoll said. Asked why the mailer would send crushed tea leaves, she said, “Only he would know that.”

Bomb Squad Investigates Package Sent to Federal Judge’s Home in Spokane  (AP, 4/9/2010)

SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Spokane police bomb squad was called to the home of a federal judge Friday morning to look at a suspicious package left on his front porch, but it turned out to be a package from Federal Express.

The bomb squad went to the home of U.S. District Judge Robert Whaley, and the South Hill neighborhood where he lives was briefly evacuated.

The bomb squad discovered it was not an explosive device, but a FedEx package that had been dropped off by the judge's housekeeper.

Government officials have been on alert since late March, when an actual bomb was found outside the Federal Building in Spokane.

Ex-Postal Worker in California Charged With Stealing Prescription Medications From Mail  (AP, 4/10/2010)

Sacramento, CA --A former Redding postal worker is free on bail after pleading not guilty to charges he stole prescription medications from the mail.

Twenty-five-year-old Shawn Wardinski entered the not guilty pleas during an arraignment in federal court Friday.

Wardinski is accused of stealing more than three dozen bottles of medication from parcels awaiting delivery in the Redding area last year.

Prosecutors say authorities discovered the thefts after police arrested Wardinski on suspicion of driving under the influence in October. Officers searching his car found 24 medications in U.S. Postal Service packaging that wasn't addressed to him.

Prosecutors say Wardinski faces a maximum of five years in prison if convicted.

A call seeking comment from his federal public defender was not immediately returned.

What Happens When Mail Burns?   (Pocono Record Writer, 4/9/2010)

Scranton, PA--The U.S. Postal Service is working to find who sent letters and packages that were reduced to ashes in a fiery tractor-trailer crash on Interstate 380 on Wednesday.

A truck hauling mail from New Jersey crashed and burned, leaving postal workers in Scranton with the tedious job of sifting through what is left. The tractor-trailer was heading to Binghamton, N.Y., from Carteret, N.J., and only passing through the Poconos, so no local postal customers lost mail in the fire.

"Employees are physically going through the pieces of mail and try to find an originating or arriving address," said Ray Daiutolo, a regional spokesman for the postal service. "It's very possible to be able to find either one of the destination or the return address and be able to use that to contact the customer."

For others, finding out where their mail went will take weeks.

Businesses that send first-class mail in bulk — bills, mostly — will have a better idea of what they sent, and the post office will be able to contact them soon. Individuals with registered or insured mail can also be traced. With knowledge of the truck's origin and destination, along with its manifest, the post office can begin contacting those customers.

But for individuals who sent single pieces of first-class mail that were burned — say, a birthday card to mom — finding out what happened to their letters will take longer — or never come.

"We try to do everything in our power to resolve this loss," Daiutolo said. "Sometimes there will be customers who cannot be located."

A front tire blew on the northbound tractor-trailer in the northern corner of Jackson Township. The driver lost control and crashed into the back of a Mack roll-back truck parked on the shoulder, sparking a fire that spread and heavily damaged both trucks and the mail inside.

To protect the crash scene and make sure none of the mail in the truck was lost or damaged unnecessarily, agents from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service responded. Postal inspectors kept watch over the remnants until postal employees could take the mail to Scranton for sorting, said Postal Inspector Lawrence Dukes.

"One of our jobs at the inspection service is to secure the mail," Dukes said. "I would say something like this is very rare. In the seven years I've been a postal inspector, this is only the second time anything like this has happened."

White Powder In Package Addressed To New Jersey Senate President Causes Scare  (Today's Sunbeam, 4/9/2010)

SALEM, NJ — A downtown Salem office building was evacuated this afternoon when a package addressed to State Senate President Stephen Sweeney was opened and found to contain what was first deemed a suspicious white powder.

The package was opened by a Third Legislative District staffer in the office Sweeney and Assemblyman John Burzichelli and Assemblywoman Celeste Riley share on the ground floor of the multi-level building in the downtown business district.

The package, delivered by FedEx from Virginia, was addressed to Sweeney, one source with knowledge of the situation said.

Officials late this afternoon said that they believe the powder is not hazardous.

The initial incident was reported to police about 12:45 p.m.

When the Third Legislative District office staffer opened the package a white powder or dust-like substance came out. The staff member, an unidentified male, was taken to The Memorial Hospital of Salem County in nearby Mannington Township.

Officials, still working at the scene, have yet to comment. It has not been confirmed what the powder or dust in the package is, but one source said it is believed the powder is not dangerous.

Police, fire, rescue and hazardous material crews remained on the scene at 199 East Broadway this afternoon. After the incident, the building was evacuated, but the situation was declared under control and workers were being let back in about 3:30 p.m.

In addition to the Third District office, the building houses offices of the state Motor Vehicle Commission, the Public Defender’s Office and the Division of Family Services.

Sweeney has been the target of a suspicious package before.

A Wenonah man was arrested and charged after he dropped off a bag that contained the head of a plush toy horse to give to Gov. Chris Christie.

The item was dropped off at Sweeney’s legislative office on Kings Highway in West Deptford Township.

Houston Tax Preparation Office Evacuated During Powder Scare  (KTRK, 4/8/2010)

HOUSTON -- Houston Police and an HFD HazMat team are checking out an incident involving white powder at a tax preparation office in west Houston.

An employee at a Tax Masters office near the beltway and Katy Freeway opened an envelope today and white powder went everywhere.

"There was a letter addressed to Tax Masters and when the clerk in the mail room (opened it) a white powdery substance came out of the letter," explained Brian Gordon, Consultant Manager with Tax Masters. "So we immediately evacuate everybody and had everybody come outside."

The HazMat team secluded 20 people but no one shows any signs of illness. Tests on the powder have not turned up anything dangerous or suspicious.

"So far everything related to acidity and any dangerous substances has come up negative but they continue to do the tests," Houston Fire Department Spokesman Pat Trahan said,

Tax Masters told Eyewitness News it has received about 150 calls from people upset about an apparent association with the Glenn Beck show on the Fox News Channel. The manager says the company only advertises on the channel.

Michigan Mail Carrier Says She Stole Mail To Buy Groceries  (Detroit Free Press, 4/7/2010)

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. -- A U.S. postal worker assigned to a Dearborn Heights neighborhood has been charged with stealing mail.

Police said the Postal Service began receiving complaints of opened mail and suspected that someone was opening mail to see if there was cash inside.

Police said a sting operation was set up, which included putting $40 and a tracking device inside an envelope that was addressed to a fake location in the neighborhood.

Elizabeth Underwood was confronted by postal authorities when it was traced back to her.

According to a criminal complaint against Underwood, she often targeted greeting cards with the hopes that money was inside.

Authorities said Underwood told them she had been taking money from envelopes since January, and that it was to buy groceries to help feed her family.

"How are people supposed to feel if you can't trust your postman?" asked resident Quenya Gabrys. "It's the government that's taking your mail. So, you should be able to trust them. Why wouldn't you be able to? You hear about this and you're not so sure about it."

Underwood has been charged with mail theft. If convicted, she is facing up to five years in prison and fines.

Hazmat Team Inspects White Powder Found Near Postal Service Building at Sacramento Airport  (ABC News, 4/7/2010)

 SACRAMENTO, CA - Hazardous materials teams were

investigating a mysterious substance found near the

U.S. Postal Service building at Sacramento

International Airport Wednesday evening, according

to an airport spokeswoman.

The white powdery substance was found near the

building's cargo ramp at the U.S. Post Office Airport

Mail Facility around 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sacramento

International spokeswoman Gina Swankie said.

Airport representatives said there was only a small

amount of the material, described as granulated like

sugar or salt, Swankie said.

After initial inspection, hazmat teams were called in.

Swankie said officials don't believe the

substance presents a significant danger and there

were no evacuations issued.

Mailed Powder Causes Evacuation Of San Bernardino County Office Building  (San Bernardino Sun, 4/7/2010)

SAN BERNARDINO, CA - A suspicious white powder found in a piece of mail prompted the evacuation of more than 150 people from the San Bernardino County Office of Aging and Adult Services on Wednesday.

The substance, described as a white residue on a mailed document, was not anthrax or any other biological substance.

"San Bernardino County fire did an analysis of the substance that revealed it's probably methamphetamine," said San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Arden Wiltshire.

A clerical staff member was opening mail when he came across the document, which was inside an envelope. When he saw the powdery film on the document, he alerted office personnel.

They called the Sheriff's Department just before 9 a.m. Deputies, along with San Bernardino city and county firefighters, and San Bernardino police came to the scene at 686 E. Mill St.

They cleared the building of 150 to 180 employees and clients. Some employees waited on the south edge of the parking lot while hazardous materials personnel put on protective suits and entered the building.

"They'll test it and see what it is, but they said the chances of it being something dangerous are very slim," said Jane Adams, deputy director for the Office of Aging and Adult Services.

Firefighters wearing masks and breathing apparatuses entered the building and used monitors to check the air for radiation, chemicals and oxygen levels.

They bagged the piece of mail and handed it to county hazardous materials personnel.

"We had county hazmat run a test on it to see if it was chemical or biological. That came up negative," said San Bernardino City Firefighter Mike Arvizo.

Once team members determined the substance was not dangerous, employees were allowed to return to work.

The employee who handled the document was also examined by firefighters. He did not suffer any illness.

The piece of mail was turned over to San Bernardino Police Department since the building sits within the city limits. Police said they took a report of the incident.

"The amount found wasn't even a usable amount," said San Bernardino police Lt. Jarrod Burguan.

Suspected Letter Bomb Actually Contained Dog Head  (Vietnam Net, 4/7/2010)

Ho Chi Minh City, VietNam – The “gift” left under suspicious circumstances in front of a home in HCM City and feared to contain a bomb instead held a dog’s head and a piece of its bowels.

It took military engineers two hours to scan the strange pack.

Major General Phan Tan Tai, commander of HCM City Military Headquarters, stated that his military engineers were sent to defuse a possible bomb inside the strange package on the evening of April 5.

“However, the pack contained the head of a dog and also a piece of its bowels,” the general revealed.

They used a mine detector to scan the pack and the machine detected explosives inside. One military engineer commented that the mine detector gave a false reading for explosives because the pack was wrapped in glazed paper.

The building is rented by a woman from Dong Nai as a home and office for a real estate firm. Some creditors have recently come to the house to demand payment of debts, causing disturbances on the street.

Since the tenants have extensive debts, this strengthened concerns that the package was a letter bomb

Southern Illinois Postal Worker Admits Stealing Mail; Sentencing Set For July  (AP, 4/9/2010)

BENTON, Ill. — Sentencing is set for July in the case of a southern Illinois postal worker who admits stealing items from mail.

Thirty-four-year-old Heather Stowers of Tamaroa pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Benton to a mail-theft charge.

Stowers was assigned to deliver mail to residents and businesses in DuQuoin and Tamaroa. But she drew scrutiny from federal postal inspectors with some on Stowers' route saying they weren't receiving packages they were expecting.

Stowers admits she pilfered items from the mail to at least eight customers between April and August of last year.

She's free on bond pending sentencing.

Powder Scare At New Jersey State Senate President’s Office  (Today’s Sunbeam, 4/10/2010)

SALEM, NJ - A downtown Salem office building was evacuated Friday afternoon when a package addressed to state Senate President Stephen Sweeney was opened and found to contain what was first deemed a suspicious powder, said Salem County Prosecutor John T. Lenahan.

The powder was later determined to be non-toxic by authorities.

While the incident was unfolding at the Finlaw Building on East Broadway, less than a block away at the county Health Department Building, workers there said they opened a package and a white substance "puffed up." That material also proved to be non-hazardous.

The afternoon-long downtown drama began about 12:45 p.m. when a staff member at the Third Legislative District office on the ground floor of the multi-story Finlaw Building opened a cardboard FedEx letter envelope addressed to Sweeney and a gray power came out, authorities said.

The unidentified worker said he felt dizzy, police said, and he was transported to The Memorial Hospital of Salem County.

The packaging materials used by FedEx were mistakenly thought by the worker to be the poisonous chemical anthrax, authorities said.

The male was said to be in stable condition, but no word was given Friday night on whether he had been officially released.

The letter was legitimate and the sender was contacted and verified the contents, authorities said. The worker apparently opened the envelope in such a way to expose recycled packing materials in the envelope.

The Finlaw Building was evacuated and law enforcement and emergency management officials converged on the site to investigate the incident.

Another 9 x 13 package similar to the one opened at the Finlaw Building was found and opened at the Salem County Health Department building on Market Street.

Hearing about what was unfolding at the nearby Finlaw Building, a female employee of the health department notified a supervisor that she had opened a similar envelope around noon and there was a powder-like substance present.

The contents of the package were also deemed to be non-toxic, said Lenahan.

"A small group of employees from the Health Department building were quarantined while the situation was assessed, but they were allowed to leave at 4:30 p.m. once the situation was cleared," said Deputy County Administrator Robin Weinstein. "County employees in the downtown campus were dismissed at 4 p.m. as a safety precaution because of the number of emergency vehicles in the area."

Those quarantined included nine county employees and two Salem County Sheriff's Officers.

"The county package was sent from a recognized source and contained information regularly received," said Weinstein.

The packages sent to both buildings contained only medical brochures form Rings Leighton Design Group. The brochures were for a pharmaceutical company based out of Virginia, authorities said.

"Both incidents today were thankfully false alarms," said Weinstein. "Our law enforcement and emergency responders handled the situation professionally."

In addition to the Third District Legislative office, the Finlaw Building houses the office of the state Motor Vehicle Commission, the Public Defender's Office and the Division of Family Services.

The Finlaw Building, which had been a vacant shell up until 2009, was reconstructed through a public/private partnership and has helped improve the city landscape. The building has also brought a large number of new workers and visitors to the downtown area.

Some $20 million was spent rehabbing the structure, including construction of a nearby parking garage.

The Health Department building is the white building located on Market Street between the Old Courthouse and the Salem County Administration Building.

The Salem County Hazardous Materials Team handled the situation at the Finlaw Building while the Gloucester County Hazardous Material Team was called in to take care of the situation at the Health Department.

Sweeney has been the target of a suspicious package before.

A Wenonah man was arrested and charged after he dropped off a bag that contained the head of a plush toy horse to give to Gov. Chris Christie.

The item was dropped off at Sweeney's legislative office on Kings Highway in West Deptford Township.

Box Containing Human Feces Discovered After Pipe Bomb Explodes in Kentucky  (NBC News, 4/8/2010)

Lexington, KY--A bomb squad was called to a Laurel County home early Thursday after a pipe bomb went off and a suspicious box was left behind that contained human feces.

Officials were called to a home on Sherman Lane in London at about 2 a.m. Police say they found fragments of a homemade pipe bomb that had been thrown against the door of the home.

If the exploding pipe bomb wasn't bad enough, a resident of the home, Chris Forbes, says he discovered a cardboard box wrapped in tape. The bomb squad later told Forbes that the box contained human feces.

So far, police have not said if they have any suspects in the case.

Anyone with information on this crime is asked to call the Laurel County Sheriff's Office.

Man Held Over Alleged Texas Pipe Bomb Plot  (NewsCore, 4/7/2010)

Tyler, TX - A wheelchair-bound suspect was being quizzed Wednesday over a chilling campaign to plant homemade bombs across East Texas, the Tyler Paper reported.

More than 30 pipe bombs and Molotov cocktail-style explosives have been left outside post offices and businesses in the past two months.

Wednesday's arrest came after another incendiary device was located beside the busy Tanglewood Shopping Centre in Tyler shortly after 11am.

A bomb-disposal robot was dispatched to safely retrieve the explosive, which had been stuffed into a mailbox.

Around 45 minutes later bomb squad crews moved in to investigate a suspicious van parked nearby.

Federal officials told the Tyler Paper that as many as five home-made bombs were found stashed inside it.

The suspect is understood to be disabled and uses a wheelchair, but no information was released on either his identity or his motive.

His arrest comes after officials raised the reward for leads on the bomber to $25,000.

More information is due to be released at a press conference on Thursday.

Federal agencies including the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Postal Service inspectors have all been working on the case.

East Texans Feel Relief After Mailbox Bomb Arrest  (AP, 4/7/2010)

DALLAS — East Texas residents who have been worried about the explosive devices turning up in mail collection boxes in the region say they're relieved there's been an arrest in the case.

The arrest was announced Wednesday — the same day a federal grand jury in Tyler indicted 52-year-old Larry Gene North of Henderson on a single count of unlawfully possessing a pipe bomb. No attorney is listed for him.

Authorities would not confirm the connection between the indictment and the arrest. However, the indictment accuses North of possessing the pipe bomb on or about March 23 — the same day one was found in a mailbox in the small community of Laird Hill.

U.S. Attorney John M. Bales would not provide details until a news conference scheduled for Thursday.

Accused Texas Bomber’s Home Searched For Bomb Materials  (KLTV, 4/7/2010)

LONGVIEW,TX -- While Larry North's arrest was going on in Tyler, postal inspectors set up a command post in Rusk County, where he lives. That command post went up near County Roads 401 and 407, near Davis Cemetery.

Evacuations were carried out for the neighbors safety. As truckloads of agents arrived to search North's home, neighbors were still trying to make sense of what he'd been charged with.

"Weeks ago we had the incidents where people were burning down the churches that got everybody antsy and now the pipe bomb scare has got people apprehensive about going an looking in their mail boxes," says North's neighbor Mark Gibson.

A 1-mile square area was closed off around North's home.

"Makes you wonder who is living down and what they're doing behind closed doors," Gibson says.

He was known and liked by many who knew him as the man who drove the children's train at the Henderson Syrup Festival every year.

"He'll wave and act like a real friendly man," says neighbor Paul Duncan.

Neighbors say North collected a large settlement from an accident 20 years ago that left him in a wheelchair, but lost it in a bank failure. Still, they never figured he would do something like this.

"You wouldn't put the two together just by seeing him and talking to him speaking to him , no," says Duncan.

For many it left them with doubts about who North was.

"I guess it just goes to show you the old saying you don't never know who your neighbor is," Duncan says.

ATF and postal agents have not released what, if anything, was found at North's home.

Suspicious Odor From Envelope Prompts Evacuation Of Ohio State Offices In Columbus  (AP, 4/7/2010)

COLUMBUS, Ohio— Authorities say a suspicious odor from an envelope mailed to an Ohio agency caused the evacuation of a seven-story Columbus office building.

Fire department spokesman David Whiting says nine people complained of eye and nose irritation, but their symptoms cleared once they got fresh air. He says the letter came from a "credible company" and the FBI has declared the matter a non-credible threat.

Hundreds of workers waited outside for about 90 minutes Wednesday morning as emergency crews investigated. No one was hospitalized.

Whiting says when the envelope was opened in an office of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services workers complained of a peppery, toner-like smell.

Whiting says there was no powder inside, as initially reported.

Report of Powder Being Dumped Into Mail Drop Boxes Prompts Evacuation in California  (Lincoln News-Messenger, 4/7/2010)

Lincoln, CA--The Lincoln Police Department received a call Saturday that a man and woman were pouring white powder into these mailboxes but the call ended up being a hoax.

Lincoln Post Office supervisor Marilou Pace is thankful that Saturday’s white-powder scare turned out to be a hoax.

At approximately 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Lincoln Police Department Dispatch received a call from an unidentified caller of a male and female adult pouring a white, powdery substance into the mailboxes outside the Lincoln Post Office.

Public-safety personnel were dispatched to the Post Office within minutes and the Post Office was evacuated, according to Jill Thompson, the city’s public-information officer.

Roseville Fire Department and Haz Mat team were called to the scene and were unable to find any white powdery substance in the mailboxes. The incident scene was cleared and open to the public in approximately two hours.

“They said a customer had called the police department and that the customer had seen a white male and white female dumping a white powdery substance into the mail boxes outside,” Pace told The News Messenger.

Pace said she evacuated two customers and two employees out of the post office and into the parking lot on Saturday.

There were about three fire trucks in the parking lot that day, as well as a Hazardous Materials team from Roseville and a TV news van, according to Pace.

Evacuating the post office for an incident such as Saturday’s is pretty normal, according to Pace.

“We were just trying to see what we had to do and if there was something hazardous,” Pace said. “That day, mail was light and I was just really glad everyone was out of there when it happened.”

Another employee there that day was Rebecca Brown, a retail associate.

“I wasn’t scared; I figured it was a hoax. The first thought that came to my mind was that someone was being silly,” Brown said. “It bothers me a lot that it was a hoax because it’s a waste of money and time.”

The fake 911 phone call could cost the cities involved as much as $5,000 for expenses including police officers who responded to the scene and the Lincoln and Roseville fire fighter’s response, according to Acting Police Chief Paul Shelgren.

Seven police officers responded to the incident Saturday, which could cost the city “right around $1,500,” according to Shelgren.

As for how much it cost the Roseville Fire Department and the hazardous-materials team to show up, Lincoln Fire Chief Dave Whitt said there was no cost to Lincoln.

“It doesn’t cost anything because we called them under the mutual-aid plan,” Whitt said.

Mutual aid in this case is when fire departments help neighboring cities if needed, according to Whitt.

Lincoln does not have its own hazardous-materials team because the city doesn’t have the staffing for such a team, according to Whitt.

If the person who made the false phone call is caught, Shelgren said, they could possibly face jail time and “could be charged with the expenses” accrued during the incident.

Shelgren said all parties involved would seek restitution for the charges accrued.

The incident is being investigated by the Lincoln Police Department. Anyone with information regarding the incident should call the Lincoln Police Department at 645-4040.

Resident Marvin Mongalo at the Post Office on Tuesday said “police did the right thing by responding to the call.”

“It could have been anthrax,” Mongalo said.

Weapons Of Mass Destruction Suspect Had List Of Virginia Locations (WTKR, 4/7/2010)

Currituck County, N.C. - A man accused of making weapons of mass destruction in his North Carolina home also had information about the federal courthouse in Norfolk and other key locations.

In a red jail jump suit 34-year-old Daniel Allen Robinson walked into the Currituck County Courtroom for his probable cause hearing. It's been almost one month since he and his brother Timothy were put in jail for several different charges.

Today the prosecution for the state of North Carolina temporarily reduced Daniel's charges from two counts of possessing weapons of mass destruction to just one count of possession of materials that could be used to make a weapon of mass destruction. The state noted that this is only temporary pending the FBI's investigation and evidence only it has.

The state called several witnesses to the stand who talked about other things they had found, including a list of some Hampton Roads landmarks such as the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel, as well as several different federal buildings.

The next stop for the case is the Currituck County Superior Court.

Suspicious Letters Cause Alarm At Two Texas Grade Schools  (Dallas Morning News, 4/7/2010)

Garland, TX--Hundreds of students were evacuated from two Garland district elementary schools Tuesday after envelopes containing white powder were mailed to the school offices.

The FBI doesn't believe the incidents were a prank to delay TAKS testing Tuesday. FBI officials said the powder was not harmful and they do not believe the incidents were a prank to delay TAKS testing under way at the schools, Ethridge Elementary in Garland and Armstrong Elementary in Sachse.

"I don't believe that's going to be the motive," FBI spokesman Mark White said.

The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating. The FBI is asking for the public's help in finding who mailed the envelopes.

The substance has been taken to an FBI laboratory for more testing.

"Until we get to lab we won't know if it's flour vs. cornstarch," FBI spokesman Mark White said.

An office worker at Ethridge was taken to the hospital as a precaution after she said she was having trouble breathing and was itching, officials said. When the envelope was found at Ethridge, the district issued an alert to all schools.

A police officer stationed at Armstrong found the second envelope, district spokesman Reavis Wortham said. The officer did not open the envelope.

"He saw the specific return address and took it to his office and secured it," Wortham said.

The return address on both envelopes turned out to be Children's Medical Center Dallas, Wortham said. Each contained a piece of paper, but Wortham said he didn't know what, if anything, was written on the paper.

The FBI is not releasing the contents of the letters. An FBI news release said that "sending a hoax letter threatening imminent death and containing unknown substances is a serious crime."

White said the FBI knows of no connection between the schools other than that they are both part of the Garland district.

At Ethridge, the worker found the powder about 9 a.m. Police, firefighters and the health department responded, followed by the FBI and postal investigators.

Students were put on buses and taken to nearby North Garland High School. Parents were alerted through the district's phone message service. Those who did not go home with parents returned to Ethridge after lunch.

At Armstrong, the children were moved outside, where they waited about an hour before being allowed to return to class at about 12:25 p.m.

Personnel in protective gear went into the schools to remove the envelopes.

Wortham said he didn't know how many parents chose to pick up their children, but "there was quite a line."

Mail delivery to all Garland schools was stopped. Employees picked up mail that already had been delivered and returned it to the district's central mail room. Postal investigators were going through the mail there, Wortham said.

No mail will be delivered to the schools today as a precaution, Wortham said.

Wortham said the district had an emergency plan ready for the situation. It was written in 2001, when anthrax was a perceived threat throughout the country.

The district contacted the Texas Education Agency and was given permission to suspend TAKS testing at the two campuses. Test materials were secured as the buildings were evacuated.

The district doesn't know when the makeup date will be.

Suspicious Package Mailed to Sioux Falls Wells Fargo  (KSFY, 4/6/2010)

Sioux Falls, SD--The Sioux Falls Police Department and several other agencies were on scene at the Wells Fargo on North Fourth Avenue Tuesday morning.

The call came in for a suspicious package that was delivered to the bank and according to the Sioux Falls Police Department contained a suspicious powder.

Right now investigators with the United States Postal Service have the package and are analyzing its contents.

Sioux Falls Police say that all the actions taken Tuesday have been routine and that the suspicious powder is in not something to be worried about.

Kelly Sprecher is with Wells Fargo and commented on the days events saying that, "Wells Fargo notified the appropriate authorities to handle the situation. The biggest concern for us was the safety and health of our team members."

No one was injured and once investigators had left business at the bank was allowed to continue.

Sioux Falls Police has confirmed that the substance has been identified and it is non-life-threatening.

The department will continue to investigate where the package came from and if the intent was malicious.

Anthrax Threat Against NY Congressman Traced To Brooklyn  (Bio Prep Watch, 4/6/2010)

New York--Authorities have potentially traced the mailing location of the March 25 anthrax letter hoax that caused the Queens office of Rep. Anthony Weiner to temporarily shut down  to Brooklyn.

The hoax mailing, which consisted of a letter containing a white powder that was revealed to be antacid, was mailed from the 11235 zip code. That zip code encompasses Sheepshead Bay and Manhattan Beach.

Federal investigators are still in the process of finding those responsible for sending the letter, which was contained written threats in block letters related to Weiner's vote on the health care reform package and was unsigned.

Nine members of Weiner's staff were decontaminated as a result of exposure to the powder in the letter. The powder was not determined to be nonhazardous until two days after the letter was found.

At the time of the letter's reception, Weiner was in Washington DC.

“The people who work for me are not political operachiks, they’re basically government workers who don’t get paid a great deal and don’t spend their time debating health care,” YourNabe.com reports Weiner said during a roundtable interview with borough reporters. “In my opinion, sending terrorizing letters to my community offices is not anything resembling free speech.”

Weiner received two anti-Semitic letters at his DC office several days before the anthrax scare. One of the letters referred to him as "schlomo" and the other was signed with a swastika.

Inmate Terrorizes Pen Pal With Death Threat Letters From Prison  (Sun, 4/7/2010)

UK--A JAILED thug terrified a caring young mum with death threats - after she became his pen pal.

Wayne Butler vowed to break Alison Brown's fingers, soak her in petrol and torch her - and warned: "Watch your back".

It happened after the robber's girlfriend dumped him when she discovered he had tried to start a romance with Alison. Prison officials are investigating.

Single Alison, 22, said: "In some sick, crazy way, he blames me for the breakdown of his relationship and wants revenge.

"I'm living in fear of his release or of him getting someone else to carry out his threats."

Alison met Butler, 23, through an ex in 2007 and decided to write after he was caged last September.

He's serving six years for two baseball bat robberies in Aberystwyth, West Wales.

Mum-of-one Alison - training to be a drugs counsellor - said: "I felt sorry for him.

Warning ... single mum Alison was left living in fear"Over a few months we exchanged about 20 letters. They were chatty and matey, nothing intimate."

Alison said Butler told her he'd split from his girlfriend and she visited him last month at Parc Prison near Bridgend, South Wales.

She said: "Within a couple of minutes he leant forward and started kissing me."

They discussed starting a relationship on his release. Two weeks later stunned Alison of Carmarthen, West Wales, got the threatening letter.

She was then contacted by Butler's girlfriend who told her she'd DUMPED him after finding out about the prison visit.

The Ministry of Justice confirmed Alison had complained and a probe was underway.

A spokesman said officials screen only five per cent of jail mail unless it’s from sex offenders, all of whose letters are read.

Authorities in Texas Assure Public About Bombs Found in Postal Drop Boxes  (Jacksonville Daily Progress, 4/5/2010)

JACKSONVILLE, TX — Though caution is advised in dealing with any suspicious items in Jacksonville, U.S. Postal Inspector Amanda McMurrey, Fort Worth division, said the public is not in any immediate danger due to the recent string of incendiary style devices found in East Texas.

Items such as bottles full of flammable liquid with a wick in them and devices that resemble pipe bombs have been found around East Texas, but none have been found in Jacksonville thus far, she said.

“If anyone finds something suspicious, the major thing they should know is they shouldn’t touch anything,” McMurrey said. “Do not touch, do not poke, do not prod. Leave it and call 911.”

She said since the beginning of 2010 the postal service has found multiple incendiary style devices around East Texas, many of which were likened to bottles with liquid and a wick in them, also known as Molotov cocktails. Others found resemble pipe bombs.

“We are not releasing how many have been found, but we do know this number,” McMurrey said. “It is being retained for investigative purposes.”

Jacksonville Police Chief Reece Daniel said because the issue is a federal one, the city police are not a main part of the overall investigation.

“If you spot anything suspicious in your mail box give us a call before you do anything,” Daniel said.

Police Detective Sgt. Daniel Franklin said the department will take every precaution necessary to protect Jacksonville’s citizens and the postal services employees.

Jacksonville Fire Department Fire Chief Paul White said no linked scares have cropped up in Jacksonville yet.

“If we spot one, we’ll call the postal inspector,” White said. “If they actually had a pipe bomb, the post office would call the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). We’d evacuate the area and preserve the evidence.”

McMurrey said the majority of the devices have been found in the postal service’s blue collection boxes, though she also said one has been found in a residential box.

“The postal inspectors and the ATF are running a joint operation and we believe these to be linked,” she added.

The ATF and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service recently raised the amount of a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for these incendiary style device scares to $25,000, McMurrey said. Anyone wanting more information can call 817-359-2719 or 877-876-2455, option 2.

She added authorities are not yet speculating on a motive.

Biowatch Program Detects Tularemia in Ohio  (Global Security Newswire, 4/5/2010)

Columbus, OH--A sensor deployed as part of a nationwide program to alert the U.S. government to a possible act of bioterrorism last week detected what appeared to be naturally occurring tularemia in Columbus, Ohio, the Columbus Dispatch reported.

Established in 2003 by the U.S. Homeland Security Department, the Biowatch program has placed technology in more than 30 elevated-risk urban zones to collect air samples that are tested daily for biological agents such as anthrax, plague and smallpox.

It had not been widely known that sensors had been placed in Columbus, the newspaper reported. National and local government officials would not release the exact locations of the equipment in Ohio or the site of the tularemia detection.

"We want to be accountable and transparent," a Homeland Security Department official said. "The conflict for us is we really don't want our adversaries to know any of the details about how we protect ourselves."

Area residents were not in danger and the alarm was not due to a biological weapons attack, said Columbus Public Health officials. The cause of heightened amount of tularemia bacteria had not been determined, according to agency spokesman Jose Rodriguez. Rabbits, rodents and ticks are all carriers of tularemia.

Naturally occurring tularemia has also been detected in recent years in Houston, St. Louis, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

The Biowatch program has not detected any act of bioterrorism.

Mail Theft Charges Filed Against Detroit Letter Carrier  (Press and Guide, 4/6/2010)

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, MI — Elizabeth A. Underwood, a letter carrier assigned to Dearborn Heights, was charged Monday in U.S. District Court in Detroit with mail theft.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Underwood told investigators she had been stealing mail because she needed extra money for groceries to feed her family.

She was arrested March 24 after allegedly opening a letter containing $40. The letter was put in Underwood's mail as a test after postal officials received several complaints about opened or missing mail on her route.

Bomb Threat Accompanying Suspicious Package Forces Evacuation Of Kansas City Federal Courthouse  (AP, 4/5/2010)

KANSAS CITY, MO — The federal courthouse in Kansas City has been evacuated after a suspicious package was found with a note warning of explosives inside.

Authorities said a soft-side cooler was found near a garage door where prisoners are brought into the building. Attached was a note saying the contents would explode. Don Ledford, public affairs officer for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said the courthouse was evacuated and employees were sent home for the day.

Kansas City Police spokesman Rich Lockhart said bomb and arson detectives have been called in, and a bomb robot is being used to examine the package.

Investigators have blocked off the area and are not allowing vehicles or pedestrians near the building.

Mauri Sheer, the U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Missouri, said the all-day evacuation is "unusual." "We normally don't run into this," he added.

Envelope With Powder Forces Evacuation Of Part Of Texas Airport  (AP, 04/06/2010)

San Antonio, TX--Authorities have evacuated about 30 people from the administrative offices of the San Antonio International Airport after the discovery of an envelope containing white powder.

Officials say airport employees found the envelope in the mail around 2:30 p.m. Monday. Airport spokesman Rich Johnson told the San Antonio Express News that the incident did not affect passengers or flights.

A spokesman for the San Antonio fire department said firefighters trained to handle hazardous materials were at the airport. The department's hazardous materials team was not sent to the scene.

The offices overlook the check-in level of the airport. No injuries were reported.

California Shopping Center Cleared After Reports of Powder in Mailboxes  (KCRA, 4/3/2010)

LINCOLN, Calif. -- A white powder hoax was called into the Lincoln Police Department on Saturday.

Police said they received a call just after 10:30 a.m. that a man and a woman were pouring white powder into the blue mail boxes outside the post office.

Lincoln public information officer Jill Thompson said two officers responded. Police cleared the shopping center while hazmat crews investigated.

After 12 p.m. crews found no powder in the mail boxes, officials said.

Thompson said about 50 people were evacuated while crews inspected the boxes.

Threatening Letters to Governors Being Investigated by FBI  (Boston Globe, 4/2/2010)

BOSTON, MA—Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick says the State Police and FBI are "taking care" of an anti-government group's letters calling for many of the nation's governors to leave office or be removed.

Patrick refused to answer Friday when asked whether he was among the 30 or more governors who received a letter this week. But he says, "I am trusting them."

Patrick also says, "The less we say about it, the better."

Officials in Rhode Island and New Hampshire confirm their governors got letters.

The group called the Guardians of the free Republics says it wants to "restore America" by peacefully dismantling parts of the government.

Investigators have said they do not see threats of violence in the message, but fear it could lead others to act violently.

Florida Woman Treated After Receiving Powder in Mail  (TC Palm, 4/2/2010)

VERO BEACH, FL — The irritating powdery substance in a letter opened Wednesday by a woman in Vero Beach was not anthrax or any other potentially harmful biological substance, state Health Department officials said Friday.

A state lab in Tampa sent those findings to the Environmental Health Department and ended its role in the investigation, said department spokeswoman Cheryl Dunn.

A 19-year-old woman called 911 Wednesday, complaining that her hands became dry and then burned. Indian River County Fire Rescue’s hazardous management team went to her home in full protective gear and the Sheriff’s Department launched an investigation in connection with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Her hands were treated and she was not hospitalized, officials said.

Dunn described the substance as a “greenish spice-like material.” It was in a piece of folded aluminum foil inside an envelope, which in turn was in another envelope.

Pentagon Beefs Up Biosecurity   (Bio Prep Watch, 4/2/2010)

The Pentagon Force Protection Agency, following a March event that saw three officers stop a gunman outside of the Pentagon, has begun efforts to upgrade security.

"We can always do better," officials at the Department of Defense headquarters told the Associated Press.

New security measures are being undertaken as part of a five year, multimillion dollar security project. Additionally, a separate project is underway at the Arlington, Va., complex that will make it more "WMD-proof" through the installation of sensors to detect biological and chemical weapons.

"Really, it's a complete reinvention of security here at the Pentagon," PFPA Director Steven Calvery said in an interview with the Associated Press.

Following the March 4 shooting, which took place outside of the Pentagon Metro station and saw gunman John Patrick Bedell shoot at three PFPA officers before being killed by return fire, more vigorous screening and increased random searches have become standard at the Pentagon.

The communications system and command center at the Pentagon will also be improved and better outdoor lighting will be installed.

Additionally, officers will continue to be trained in active shooter situations. The officers who killed Bedell had undergone that training only a few days prior to the attack, officials have said.

White Powder Found in Mail at South Carolina Home Not Hazardous  (WMBF, 4/1/2010)

PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC (WMBF) - A white powder discovered when a woman in her 70s opened an envelope at her Pawleys Island home on Thursday has been deemed not hazardous by hazmat crews.

According to Midway Fire Rescue Chief Doug Eggiman, the woman called 911 after she opened the envelope she got from the U.S. Post Office in Pawleys Island. A two-man hazmat  crew was called to the woman's home at the corner of Sextant Place and South Causeway Road.

Eggiman said the department set up a system to go into the home to retrieve a sample of the power so it could be analyzed.

The woman washed the powder off and is OK, Eggiman said.

Following an analysis of the powder, officials learned it was a shipping material and nothing hazardous.

Former Israeli Soldiers Sue Defense Ministry Over Anthrax Vaccine Experiment   (Examiner, 4/1/2010)

It was the early 1990’s and hundreds of elite Israeli combat troops were offered a chance to perform very important national service to the nation.

It was a research project known as “Omer 2” and was kept top secret for many years. The experiments included 716 Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) out of over 4000 candidates. Their job was to test the efficacy of an anthrax vaccine.

The experiments were carried out by the IDF’s Medical Corps and the Nes Tziona Institute of Biological Research (IBR).

Today we find 64 former IDF soldiers suing the Defense Ministry for nearly $80,000 each. They are claiming damages for mental anguish and emotional distress from involuntary use of one’s body and medical negligence.

In addition, they are demanding that the state reveal the ingredients in the vaccine that was given to them.

Though the state claims it was voluntary participation, the plaintiffs claim they received vague information about the nature of the experiment. Defense Ministry officials say more details could not be revealed due to secrecy.

And the United States was involved. According to a report in haaretz.com, $200 million was provided to fund a top secret laboratory and manufacturing facility to develop and produce the anthrax vaccine.

The report continues by saying that the US wanted to develop the vaccine after the 1991 Gulf War but there was concern whether they could get approval to conduct such a trial. So they requested that the IBR conduct the experiments and share the findings.

The Israel Medical Association (IMA) has said that the experiments were unjustifiable saying that "No scientific justification was found for the experiment, scientific background was lacking, the experiment's design and execution did not suit its goals, and no result would have justified those goals. Also, conventional guidelines were not followed, risks and possible side effects were not thoroughly investigated, and a follow-up mechanism to keep track of participating soldiers was not set up."

Interestingly enough, while Omer 2 was going on, Israel already had enough vaccine for their population.

One of the plaintiffs said that the IDF showed a total lack of respect for human life and wants the court to teach them a lesson.

Vero Beach Woman Reports Receiving Irritating Powder In Letter  (TC Palm, 4/1/2010)

VERO BEACH, FL — A woman’s report of finding an irritating powdery substance in a letter has led to a criminal investigation into the mailing along with testing by the Florida Department of Health, according to the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office.

Officials are trying to find out what the substance is. Health Department Environmental Manager Cheryl Dunn said it doesn’t appear to be anthrax. An initial screening showed it wasn’t acidic.

“It looked like a greenish spice-like material,” Dunn said.

FBI agents from Fort Pierce are assisting in the investigation, a spokeswoman said. She wouldn’t elaborate.

The 19-year-old letter recipient was treated by medical personnel Wednesday night, but she wasn’t hospitalized, sheriff’s Sgt. Tom Raulen said Thursday.

Tests of the letter are expected within days. The sample was sent to the department’s lab in Tampa on Thursday, which each year usually has a number of samples sent in of materials received on April 1, April Fools Day.

The material was inside folded aluminum foil that was inside an envelope, which in turn was in another envelope, said county Fire Marshall Brian Nolan.

The woman called 911 at 8 p.m. Wednesday, complaining her hands became dry and then burned. Indian River County Fire Rescue’s hazardous management team was called in. The team entered her home on 48th Avenue with full protective gear and breathed from their own oxygen tanks as they treated her hands and cleaned up, Nolan said.

The woman recently moved here from South Florida.

Finnish Post To Open and Scan Mail In Digital Mail Trial  (AFP, 4/1/2010)

Love letters, payslips and overdue bills will not be spared when Finland's post starts opening mail and sending scanned copies to selected recipients in a trial aimed at cutting costs and emissions.

Love letters, payslips and overdue bills will not be spared when Finland's post starts opening mail and sending scanned copies to selected recipients in a trial aimed at cutting costs and emissions.

Volunteers will receive an e-mail or a mobile phone text message when their mail has been opened, scanned and sent as a PDF file to a secure digital mailbox, to which only the recipient has access, a post official told AFP.

"This (secure digital mailbox) is totally different from e-mail. It is comparable to web banking," said Tommi Tikka, development director at state-owned Itella, which runs the Nordic country's postal system.

The "highly automated" conversion of letters into electronic documents would be conducted in "special, secured premises" where staff are bound by strict confidentiality obligations, Tikka said, insisting that the initiative was not an April Fools joke.

Love letters and other personal messages would not be spared in the experiment, which has generated lively online discussion in high-tech Finland, home to top mobile phone maker Nokia.

"Itella is doing in Finland what the KGB did in its time in the Soviet Union and the Stasi in East Germany. Itella is reading people's private mail," one commentator using the name "Itella agentti", or "Itella agent", said on a debate forum hosted by leading daily Helsingin Sanomat.

But Tikka insisted the service complied with correspondence secrecy laws and everyone who had volunteered for the trial had signed an agreement with Itella for their post to be opened and converted into an electronic format.

"Our workers do not read the mail. How could love letters be filtered out?" said Tikka, adding Itella would not keep copies of letters.

"We want to find out what kind of content clients want to start receiving electronically ... Are personal letters among those that are not wanted in a digital form? We will find out," he said.

The size and bulk of envelopes would be analysed to filter out mail not suited for scanning, and those obviously containing items such as bank cards or voting ballots would not be opened, Tikka said.

So far, 126 households and 20 businesses in Anttila, an area of scattered settlement in the southern town of Porvoo, had volunteered to join the trial, which starts in the week of April 12 and runs until the end of the year.

And those who long for the scent and feel of stationery need not despair: once scanned, correspondence will be returned to its envelope and delivered in the normal fashion.

But the postman will only call twice a week at the homes of participating residents. Deliveries to mailboxes at a local store will be made three times a week.

"This is purely a trial. We don't know yet whether, at the end of the year, there will be aspects of this that could be applied more widely," Tikka said.

The Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) is working with Itella to evaluate the environmental impact of what Tikka called a "living lab experiment".

Alleged Mail Bomber 'The Bishop' Working On Plea Deal  (Chicago Sun Times, 3/31/2010)

Chicago, IL--The man accused of being "The Bishop" for allegedly sending unarmed bombs through the mail — in an alleged attempt to affect stock prices — is working on a plea deal with the government, his lawyer said today.

John P. Tomkins of Iowa was charged in 2007 with mailing unarmed pipe bombs accompanied by threatening notes to different companies.

His lawyer, Frank Lipuma, told a federal judge today he's been in plea negotiations with the government for some time.

"We are making progress, we will continue to make progress if we have more time," Lipuma said.

Lipuma said there is an open county investigation in Iowa looking into the same alleged behavior. Lipuma said he's trying to come up with a "global" plea that will settle that probe as well as the federal charges.

Tomkins allegedly targeted investment firms and demanded they move specific stocks to a certain price, often $6.66.

Tomkins stood to profit if firms followed his demands before his deadlines, authorities have said.

He is scheduled to be back in court May 5th.

Reward Increases for Texas Pipe Bomb Suspects  (Fox News, 4/1/2010)

Federal investigators are scrambling to find out who’s leaving suspicious—and potentially explosive devices—at locations around East Texas. The devices keep coming. Two more were found just this week. In all, more than a dozen devices have been found in five different counties since just the beginning of the year. So far, no one’s been hurt, but investigators are becoming more concerned with each device they find. The more recent devices have looked like pipe bombs. Earlier ones were more like Molotov cocktails. Some of them have been placed in mailboxes. For example, of the two incidents yesterday, one was found in a collection box in Longview, Texas. That’s about two hours east of Dallas. The other was found in a residential mailbox in nearby Lake Cherokee. Teams from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are dismantling the devices and shipping them off to an ATF lab for investigation. The US Postal Inspection Service and ATF have increased their reward in the case. They're now offering $25,000 for tips that lead to the arrest or conviction of anyone involved. Longview, TX is in the same general area that was targeted by church arsonists earlier this year. The ATF made two arrests in that case.

Ohio Bomb Squad Investigates Mail at Congressman Tim Ryan's Office  (WYTV, 4/1/2010)

Youngstown, OH--The Youngstown Bomb Squad was called to Congressman Tim Ryan's downtown office Thursday morning.

Ryan's spokesman said authorities were called after a suspicious package was delivered to the office.

The spokesman said the package was address to "Jim" Ryan and had extra postage, which they said raised a red flag.

Officials searched the mail thoroughly before determining it harmless.

Ryan canceled an appearance earlier this week, due to safety concerns. He is one of about 10 members in Congress who has received threats after voting for the health care bill.