Alarming Cost Of False Alarms, Anthrax Hoaxes

A security camera recorded the man wearing dark sunglasses and a hooded sweat shirt as he walked by Boston’s Symphony Hall Feb. 9 and dropped a cardboard tube marked “Anthrax Beware” at the door.

Emergency medical crews raced to the site, firefighters cordoned off the area, police halted traffic and life froze to an anxious halt until a hazmat team signaled the all-clear: The tube was empty.

In the 7 ½ years since America’s worst bioterror attack — when letters laced with anthrax spores killed five people, closed Congress and the Supreme Court and crippled mail service for months — U.S. agencies have spent more than $50 billion to beef up biological defenses.

No other anthrax attacks have occurred.

But a flood of hoaxes and false alarms have raised the cost considerably through lost work, evacuations, decontamination efforts, first responders’ time and the emotional distress of the victims.

That, experts say, is often the hoaxsters’ goal.

“It’s easy, it’s cheap and very few perpetrators get caught,” said Leonard Cole, a political scientist at Rutgers University in Newark, N.J., who studies bioterrorism. “People do it for a sense of power.”

Among the recent targets:

• Nearly all 50 governors’ offices

• About 100 U.S. embassies

• 52 banks

• 36 news organizations

• Ticket booths at Disneyland

• Mormon temples in Salt Lake City and Los Angeles

• Town halls in Batavia, Ohio, and Ellenville, N.Y.

• A funeral home and a day-care center in Ocala, Fla.

• A sheriff’s office in Eagle, Colo.

• Homes in Ely River, N.M.

The FBI has investigated about 1,000 such “white-powder events” as possible terrorist threats since the start of 2007, spokesman Richard Kolko said. The bureau responds if a letter contains a written threat or is mailed to a federal official.

Full Article – Seattle Times Newspaper.

Suspicious Letters Containing White Powder Forces Evacuation of WSJ Offices

Two floors of the Manhattan offices of The Wall Street Journal were evacuated Wednesday after the

The suspicious mails, in identical, white envelopes with Tennessee postmarks, were addressed to several New York-based WSJ executives, the paper said in a story on its website.

The two evacuated floors housed news, editorial and executive personnel, the paper said, adding that only a core group of editors remained in the building to ensure production of newspaper for Thursday and that others were sent home or to back-up facilities.

Officials from the New York City Police Department and Department of Environmental Protection are on the scene.

The suspicious envelopes, addressed by hand in pen, arrived with different return addresses in Tennessee. One envelope was addressed to Robert Thomson, the paper’s managing editor. It was opened by one of his assistants.

The Wall Street Journal is published by News Corp.’s Dow Jones &Co.

An executive of Dow Jones emailed the paper’s New York City-based employees, cautioning them not to open any mail.

“While we don’t think there is cause for alarm at this time, we are asking everyone not to open any mail while we investigate,” Dow Jones vice president of communications Howard Hoffman said in the email.

Last October, the New York offices of the New York Times and Reuters had to be evacuated for several hours after receiving letters with suspicious white powder.

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.

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.”

Source

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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.