F.B.I. Investigates Suspicious White Powder Incidents – Florida

The FBI and The Orange County Sheriffs Department are investigating two cases involving a suspicious white powder. In one of the incidents, two women were hospitalized with breathing problems after coming in contact with the substance. The women apparently came in contact with the powder when they found it inside a car.

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Orange County Sheriff’s deputies say suspicious powdery substances were found at two locations Saturday. The substance was so bad, investigators say it sent two women to the hospital.

In fact, investigators seized a number of items from an Apopka home located on Maple Street. Neighbors say a woman and her daughter spotted some white powder behind their bathroom toilet, they believe that white powder made them sick.

According to friends, the people inside the house moved out a couple of weeks ago because they were so ill. Then Saturday, deputies say two women became ill from a white powdery substance found in their car off Hondo way.

Deputies wouldn’t say if it was the same mother and daughter, but they would say the cases were related. Hondo Way was shut down for about five hours.

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Man Arrested In Suspicious Powder Mailings

A man apparently upset about losing more than $60,000 when the government took over a failed bank has been arrested on charges alleging he mailed threatening letters containing suspicious powder to banks and federal offices, authorities said Tuesday.

Richard Leon Goyette, who also goes by the name Michael Jurek, was arrested Monday at the Albuquerque airport and is scheduled to make a preliminary court appearance later today. He is charged with a single count of knowingly and intentionally conveying false and misleading information.

The letters, mailed to Chase Bank branches, FDIC offices and the Office of Thrift Supervision, contained white powder and threats warning that whoever opened the letters would die within 10 days, reports CBS News correspondent Bob Orr. Field tests on the letters proved the powder to be non-hazardous.

“Mr. Goyette’s alleged criminal actions caused emergency responders and hazardous response teams immense unnecessary labor and expense, diverted personnel from actual emergencies, completely disrupted business at these financial institutions, and caused untold emotional distress to those who received letters,” said James T. Jacks, acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

Goyette is accused of mailing 65 threatening letters in October to financial institutions and federal regulatory offices in 12 states. Sixty-four of the letters contained an unidentified white powder. Officials said Tuesday that the powder was calcium carbonate, a major component of blackboard chalk.

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Reward Offered For Information On Suspicious Letters Sent To State Governors

New information has been released about suspicious letters containing white powder that have been mailed across the country.

The offices or more than 40 governors across the country have received the letters, including Governor Brian Schweitzer, according to the FBI.

Additional letters have been received at several U.S. Embassies overseas.

So far, the FBI said it does not believe the powder is dangerous, but it still looks suspicious.

A message was located inside the envelope, which is not being released at this time. The FBI said it is not clear on what the message means.

The white powder has been field screened and the tests have met with negative results.

The powder has been forwarded to local laboratories and some believe it could be corn starch or flour, but the FBI has asked everyone to be on the lookout for additional letters.

The Postal Inspection Service is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for these mailings.

Anyone with information on who may be sending the letters is asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL FBI or 1-800-225-5324, the Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455 or local law enforcement.

These letters are postmarked Dallas, Texas or North Texas.

via Montana’s News Station – Fair. Accurate. To the Point. -FBI continues investigation into suspicious letters.

Suspicious Letters SentTo At Least 6 Governors

Suspicious letters containing powdery substances addressed to governors were intercepted in at least six states on Monday, but no injuries were immediately reported.

The letters were reported in Alabama, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana and Rhode Island. They disrupted state governments in a few of the states, forcing some evacuations and testing for workers who might have been exposed.

Preliminary tests found the powders sent to Alabama, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana and Rhode Island were not harmful. The Missouri letter never made it to state offices.

Alabama officials said the FBI was working with police agencies in each state to investigate the letters. An FBI spokeswoman in Washington referred questions about the investigation to the bureau’s offices in each state.

Alabama’s public safety director, Christopher Murphy, said “my gut is there may be more” letters still moving through the mail system.

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FBI Sending Suspicious Powder To Headquarters

A suspicious substance mailed to the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is on its way to FBI headquarters in Quantico, Va., for further testing.

FBI agents in Salt Lake City said they received a final report from the state health department on the white powdery substance in an envelope mailed to Temple Square last week. Tests were conducted to ensure it wasn’t ricin, anthrax or any other biological weapon.

“It is not any kind of biological agent or toxin or even a new strain,” FBI Special Agent Juan Becerra said Monday.

Envelopes with white powder were mailed to Temple Square, the LDS Church’s temple in Los Angeles, and a printing press belonging to the Catholic-affiliated Knights of Columbus in New Haven, Conn. Both churches were heavy backers of California’s Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment that banned same-sex marriage in that state.

The FBI has labeled its probe a domestic terrorism investigation. Becerra would not say whether the agency had identified any suspects in the case, but reiterated Monday that the FBI had no evidence that linked the threats to Prop. 8 or its opponents.

Many gay rights organizations have also decried the threats.

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30 Banks Receive Threatening Letters With Suspicious Powder

UPDATE: The FBI is looking into at least thirty suspicious letters sent to nine Chase banks around the country.

Police investigators say letters contained an unknown powder inside. The Postal Service says so far they don’t believe the powder is harmful.

Inside the letters were also threats about the economy.

The letters were mailed to Chase bank branches in or near Atlanta, Chicago, Denver and Washington.

Investigators say the letters all appear to be from the same source and were sent from Texas.

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Ten branches of Chase (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) bank in Colorado and Oklahoma received threatening letters on Monday, some containing a harmless white powder.

An FBI spokeswoman said seven banks in the Denver area got letters, along with three in Oklahoma.

“Based on our investigation, the suspicious substance appears to be non-hazardous,” FBI spokeswoman Kathy Wright said. She did not identify the powder or elaborate on the nature of the threat.

A spokeswoman for Chase said the letters were delivered to branches in the Denver area and in Oklahoma City and Norman, Oklahoma.

Some of the envelopes contained the white powder, Chase spokeswoman Mary Jane Rogers said, and one employee was treated for a rash as a precaution.

She identified two suburban Denver branches as being in Lakewood and Arvada.

Kevin Ferry, a Denver area fire marshal, identified a third in Centennial. Several bank employees there were evaluated at a hospital and released, he said.

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Orlando Congressman Receives Suspicious Envelope

At approximately 4:30 p.m., the Port Orange Fire-Rescue and Port Orange Police Department responded to a call received from the office of Congressman Tom Feeney located inside Port Orange City Hall at 1000 City Center Circle.

Officials say an envelope containing about 1-2 teaspoons of an unknown white powder substance was received and opened by secretarial staff.

Units from Port Orange, New Smyrna Beach, South Daytona, and Volusia County Hazmat are on scene. The building has been evacuated and the area is being secured by police.

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Unknown Powder Found On Park Slides – Chicago

An unknown powdered substance was dumped down the slides of a Hickory Hills community park, sending two children and two adults to the hospital, a fire official said.

After undergoing a substance-analysis test, with the help of an outside agency, the Roberts Park Fire Protection District was unable to determine what type of substance was “clearly dumped down the slides,” a fire official said.

The fire protection district responded to Prairie View Park, 8200 W. 85th St., about 6:45 p.m. after receiving reports about two different types of powders on the play equipment, the fire official said.

Upon arrival, fire personnel found several paint cans near the play equipment, and two different colored powders, one gray and another brown, on the park’s slides.

The fire official said there was a “considerable” amount of the powder dumped on the slides. A Level 1 HazMat was called for the unknown powdery substance.

Two minors who came in contact with the powdery substance, and two adults that were exposed to the substance, were taken to Palos Community Hospital in Palos Heights as a precaution.

Bomb Squad Investigating Materials, Powders Found In Home – Ohio

The Columbus Division of Fire Bomb Squad was investigating explosive materials and chemicals that were discovered inside a home on Monday afternoon.

Officers from the bomb squad and other agencies were called to the home, located at 4967 Brice Meadows Drive, after receiving a call from a property manager, 10TV’s Kevin Landers reported. Read more

McCain Office Receives Envelope With White Powder – May Be Hoax

UPDATE: A government official said a letter sent to the office of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee near Denver contained powder, but was being treated as a hoax and was believed to have been sent by an inmate at a nearby jail in Arapahoe County.

The letter sent to the office in New Hampshire did not contain powder, but rose suspicions of staffers who were jittery after the Denver area office received its letter.

Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren said the two letters are unrelated.

Despite the likelihood of a hoax, staffers at all the Arizona Republican’s campaign offices nationwide were told not to open letters.

“Let’s be cautious and not open mail tomorrow unless we clearly know the source,” according to a campaign e-mail that was sent to staff members and obtained by The Washington Times. “Let’s see what comes of this.”

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John McCain’s Denver campaign office received an envelope containing white powder and a threatening note Thursday afternoon.

Spokesman Jeff Sadosky stated the office has been evacuated, and that federal and local law enforcement have been notified.

He would only say, “It was a threatening note and that the staff on site will be seen by health care professionals immediately, and the incident is under investigation.

“We are taking all necessary precautions,” Sadosky said.

The letter was opened at about 5 p.m. ET.