| news sep/oct 2005 |
Animal Rights Activists Terrorize NJ Pharmaceutical Executive
First came the threatening phone calls to George Svokos' home in Franklin Lakes last December.
Then his mail was stolen. Fliers appeared on his car and those of neighbors, accusing his employer of animal slaughter and abuse.
Burglars broke into the house, stole a credit card and ran up a $5,000 bill, including a blow-up sex doll to be sent to his home.
They also stole the itinerary for an upcoming family vacation in London, circulating the details in an e-mail urging the recipients to call the hotel and "make his vacation one he'll never forget."
Svokos, president of Plantex USA Inc., a Hackensack-based drug-marketing company, alleges the series of events in a lawsuit awaiting trial in Superior Court in Hackensack. He says he was targeted by animal rights activists because his employer's parent company, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA of North Wales, Pa., tests drugs at a laboratory run by Huntingdon Life Sciences, which uses animals for testing medicines and agricultural products.
The alleged harassment fits the pattern of a ferocious effort by animal rights activists in recent years - especially a group called Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC-USA) - to shut down the testing company, which has headquarters near Princeton and a small executive suite in Hackensack.
Saying the laboratory's work is cruel and unnecessary, the activists admit to a range of pressure tactics, including protests outside company offices and employee homes, threatening phone calls, and mass fax, leaflet and e-mail blitzes denouncing Huntingdon.
But the activists also face criminal charges brought by federal authorities, who say the tactics extend to vandalism and violence.
Seven SHAC members are set to go on trial in February in Trenton on federal charges of interstate stalking and conspiracy connected to the anti-Huntingdon campaign. FBI Deputy Assistant Director John Lewis told a U.S. Senate committee Wednesday that investigating campaigns waged by SHAC and other animal rights groups "is one of the FBI's highest domestic terrorism priorities."
The activists have broadened their focus, including what authorities call "secondary targets" such as Svokos - employees and officers of any company that either hires Huntingdon or has some other connection.
Huntingdon hurt
Drug giants such as GlaxoSmithKline PLC, Hoffmann-La Roche and Novartis have all been targeted. Lewis told the Senate committee that the tactics have prompted more than 100 companies to refuse to work with Huntingdon, among them Johnson & Johnson and Merck.
On Sept. 7, the New York Stock Exchange abruptly postponed a scheduled listing of Huntingdon on the Big Board, a move that many observers - including Huntingdon executives - believe was the result of activist intimidation.
An exchange attorney, Richard P. Bernard, told the committee Wednesday only that the NYSE is still evaluating the Huntingdon listing, adding that it cannot comment on the issue due to client confidentiality.
Intimidation and threats are nothing new for Huntingdon, one of the largest testing laboratories in the United States. Originally in Britain, the company moved its corporate headquarters to New Jersey in 2002 to escape British animal rights activists.
These days, Chief Financial Officer Richard Michaelson - the company's top U.S. executive - and two other senior company officials work out of an office in Hackensack, which - for security reasons — doesn't bear the company name.
For all the opposition, he said, the company - which trades as Life Sciences Research - is strong. Revenues rose from $115 million to $157.5 million between 2002 and 2005. The company, listed on the NYSE from 1989 to 2000, was de-listed when the share price fell below $1. But the price has risen since 2002 from around $2 to a peak of about $18 in August before dropping.
Michaelson declined to identify company clients, but said, "We do business with most of the world's leading biotech and pharmaceutical companies."
Critics say the company is built on abuse and cruelty to dogs, monkeys, rabbits and other animals revealed over the years by undercover investigations. They say animals shouldn't suffer so that humans can develop unnecessary items such as fertilizers and diet drugs, and liken themselves to civil rights activists.
Nick Cooney, 24, a Philadelphia resident named in the Svokos suit, denied the allegations against him personally. But he said he agrees with some of the tactics, including burglary and even violence if it saves many animals' lives, adding that the impact of these tactics on company executives pales in comparison to the pain inflicted on animals in the laboratory.
Cooney, a Hofstra University graduate with close ties to SHAC, said the Svokos suit is one of more than 20 similar cases around the country.
"These suits are nothing more than an attempt to infringe on the First Amendment rights of peaceful activists," Cooney said. "They seek to limit the number of demonstrations that can be held, where demonstrations can be held, to make educating the public about the issue more difficult."
But U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie in Newark called the activists "lawless thugs attacking innocent men, women and children."
'Terror tactics'
Prosecutors allege SHAC and the seven members charged conducted a campaign of "activity meant to harm the business of HLS in any manner available." The indictment says the seven posted a list of "top 20 terror tactics" on the SHAC Web site along with daily targets, which were then hit with vandalism and intimidation.
"The primary story here is really not whether you challenge whether or not what we do is ethical or not," Michaelson said. "The issue here is whether or not we allow individuals to coerce others to refrain from lawful activities."
Michaelson pointed out that the U.S. government mandates that early stage drugs be tested on animals before they are used on humans. He said 80 percent of Huntingdon's tests are conducted on rodents, though some dogs, monkeys and pigs are used. Some are killed afterward so that effect of the drugs can be studied, he said.
Michaelson admitted that the activists have had an impact.
At least two Huntingdon board members have resigned as a result of the campaign, Michaelson said. So, too, have more than 40 market makers of Huntingdon stock, company auditor Deloitte & Touche, the security firm that protects the Huntingdon laboratory, its landscaping contractor and even the person who delivers employee sandwiches, he said.
Last week, several institutions sold Huntingdon stock after they were targeted by a Brooklyn-based animal rights group, pushing shares down from just over $15 at the start of the month to $11.35 Friday, he said.
Activists brought their campaign to Saddle Brook on a recent afternoon as seven protesters, including Cooney, mounted a raucous picket outside the offices of Thomson Horstmann & Bryant, a fund manager.
Members of the group, called Hugs For Puppies, looked mostly in their 20s and said they had traveled from Long Island and Philadelphia.
Alleged death toll
They held up placards depicting a wounded, bleeding beagle and two white rabbits, their heads trapped in a neck-grip, which the protestors said help technicians administer eye drops. One sign said that 500 animals die every day at the laboratory - a figure Michaelson said is vastly exaggerated - with a headline: "Puppy killers — close them down."
Cooney, the apparent leader, said that SHAC had previously sent letters to Thomson Horstmann & Bryant demanding the firm sell its Huntingdon shares. He delivered anti-Huntingdon leaflets to a visibly shaken employee at Thomson's fifth-floor office, then came back outside to harangue building occupants with a bullhorn.
"We are here today, because Thomson Horstmann & Bryant on the fifth floor of your building invest in one of the most cruel and disgusting companies in the country," he shouted.
He urged the company to sell off its shares or "you will find us outside your office or outside your homes, or outside your churches or family picnics."
Two days later, according to an e-mail supplied by Cooney, the company announced it no longer held Huntingdon stock. The company did not return a request for comment.
That wasn't how Svokos, Plantex and Teva - an Israeli company that is one of the larger generic manufacturers - reacted to the pressure, when they were targeted late last year. Instead, they filed suit, detailing a campaign not only against Svokos, but Teva CEO George Barrett, other company employees and even against their churches.
Aside from Cooney and SHAC, the 10-count suit names as defendants two other animal rights groups and Hugs For Puppies. It seeks damages and a court injunction to stop the activity - a remedy that was granted temporarily in April by Superior Court Judge Peter E. Doyle, who restricted how close activists could picket to the Svokos residence.
A Teva spokesman said Svokos would not comment. The company also did not respond to other questions on the case.
Newark attorney Bennett D. Zurofsky - who represents SHAC but not the other defendants - denied the allegations against his client. The organization merely runs a Web site that promotes the campaign against Huntingdon, and didn't take part in the alleged activities, he said.
SHAC members support "some illegal means, as long as they are not harmful of either human or animal life," Zurofsky said.
"There's a difference between advocating a position, and actually going out and doing something."
Huntingdon Life Sciences
1952: Huntingdon Life Sciences is formed to conduct nutrition, veterinary and biochemical research.
1989: Company stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange as a foreign company.
1997: A British documentary shows an HLS technician hitting a beagle, incensing animal rights activists. Other footage showed a technician slitting open a live monkey.
1998: Huntingdon agrees to pay a $50,000 fine to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to settle 23 animal-welfare charges, including a failure to use appropriate anesthetics or sedatives.
1999: Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) formed in the United Kingdom with the aim of shutting down HLS, then Europe's largest animal-testing lab.
2000: Huntingdon delisted from NYSE after share prices fall below $1, partly due to the effect of animal rights attacks.
2001: Huntingdon CEO Brian Cass is attacked in England by activists wielding baseball bats.
2001: SHAC-USA is formed.
2002: British government steps in to provide Huntingdon with insurance coverage when no private company will do so.
2002: Huntingdon moves its world HQ to New Jersey to escape British animal rights activists. The company trades under the name Life Sciences Research.
May 2004: SHAC and seven members are indicted in federal court in Newark on conspiracy and interstate stalking charges.
September
2005: An hour before Huntingdon was due to be listed by the NYSE,
the exchange postpones the listing.
30 Oct 2005, North Jersey News
Suspicious Briefcase Forces Evacuation of Detroit Post Office
Macomb County Clerk Carmella Sabaugh found herself in a traffic jam on the way to a Board of Commissioners meeting Wednesday evening, but she had no complaints.
The jam was caused by a bomb scare at the U.S. Post Office on Main Street in downtown Mount Clemens, which forced police to shut down traffic on Northbound Gratiot, diverting motorists through local neighborhoods.
The threat later turned out to be false.
"Any inconvenience we may have to endure is no bother as long as everyone is safe. We'll find our way to the meeting," Sabaugh said, after getting directions from a couple of passers-by.
The commotion on Main Street was caused by a suspicious briefcase that a woman found near a mailbox outside of the post office. Postal officials used a portable X-ray device to examine the briefcase and detected something inside that caught their interest.
Michigan State Police explosives experts were called to the scene and determined that whatever was in the briefcase was not a threat. They would not reveal what the item was, other than to say there was nothing else in the briefcase, which did not have any identification.
U.S. Postal Inspector Fred Van de Putte said the item in the briefcase "made us a bit uncomfortable," so the state police bomb squad and the FBI were called to the scene.
"We weren't going to take a chance on jeopardizing the safety of our employees or the public's safety," Van de Putte said. "At the time, we considered this to be a live scenario as opposed to a drill."
The briefcase was found about 4:30 p.m. Once postal officials used the X-ray device and became suspicious, they ordered the evacuation of about 50 letter carriers and other workers about an hour later.
Macomb County Sheriff's deputies shut down traffic on Northbound Gratiot at Robertson, and closed Main Street from Church to Robertson.
The Harold W. Vick Funeral Home and the Second Hand Rose resale shop were also evacuated.
A women's counseling center had to cancel a support group meeting.
Workers from the post office sat in mail trucks or nearby buildings while the investigation was under way. They were cleared to return to work by about 7:20 p.m.
"It's always better to be safe than sorry even at the cost of inconveniencing a lot of folks," Van de Putte said. "I don't want to be specific about what we found in there because I don't want someone repeating this all over."
Phil Frame,
a spokesman for the Macomb County Board of Commissioners, said
the board conducted its regular meeting Wednesday night without
any delays. The board meets in the county administration building
on Main Street at Cass, about two blocks north of the post office.
27 Oct 2005, Macomb
Daily
Bomb Squad Disables Mail Bomb at Virginia Courthouse
A suspicious package that contained what authorities believe was a bomb was seen in the mail at the U.S. Courthouse yesterday and handled by the Richmond police bomb squad.
U.S. Postal Inspector D.E. Wood said the return address indicated the package came from a federal prison. "We believe it's an actual device," Wood said.
Officials would not specify what was found at the scene. But last night, Richmond Police Chief Rodney Monroe confirmed that a device was recovered and "disrupted" by the bomb squad.
Police said the U.S. Marshals Service, which is responsible for courthouse security, called 911 at 9:36 a.m. Employees were evacuated about 9:30 a.m. from the courthouse annex building at 1100 E. Main St. The annex is next door to the main courthouse at 10th and Main streets. The main courthouse was not evacuated.
Authorities said black powder found in the package will be analyzed to be sure that it is an explosive. Courthouse employees said they were told the package contained wires, a battery, a switch, a light bulb and nails.
Monroe said the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is leading the investigation of the device and who sent it. Wood said his agency is working with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Wood said the package was X-rayed twice at the scene to be sure of its contents before the bomb-squad officers went to work.
"They rendered the package safe," Wood said, "and we gathered the evidence and we are transporting it to the ATF lab." Wood did not know what method the bomb squad used.
He said the package was made safe about two hours after the incident began. It took about three more hours to finish gathering evidence.
Employees were allowed to re-enter the annex building about 2:30 p.m.
25 Oct 2005,
Times Despatch
Letter Bomb Sent to Italian Prosecutor
A package containing a detonator without explosives was sent to the prosecutor leading a match-fixing investigation into Italian league soccer games from last season, police said Tuesday.
Genoa prosecutor Alberto Lari noticed something strange about the package after receiving it and turned it over to the Carabinieri paramilitary police, Col. Salvatore Graci said.
Police opened the package and found a detonator but no explosives, Graci told The Associated Press by telephone.
Lari's inquiry is focusing on seven matches, including the Rome derby between AS Roma and Lazio on May 15 that ended 0-0.
Five other matches were also in the Serie A — AC Milan versus Palermo, Livorno versus Juventus, Reggina versus Lecce, Sampdoria versus Inter Milan and Messina versus Livorno. The seventh, Empoli versus Genoa, was in the second division.
All the games finished in draws except for Inter's 1-0 win over Sampdoria.
The Italian
soccer federation said Tuesday it would ask Genoa authorities
for more information regarding their investigation.
25 Oct 2005, AP
Asian Business Owners Targeted in Hate
Mail Campaign
Hate mail received late last week by immigrant Asian business owners contained threats to rape the women of the community and kill the children.
The letters claimed to be from a member of the Aryan Nation, Police Inspector William Colarulo said yesterday.
He said at least three business owners received the hate mail on Friday.
Ken Wong, a Chinatown insurance agent and community activist, said other business owners had received the hate mail Thursday, and he placed the number of letters received so far at seven.
Two of the letters threatened to set off a mustard-gas bomb, police said. One was sent to Allen Ho, 30, who works at the First Oriental Market, 6th Street near Washington Avenue. The other was mailed to Michael Chan, 32, at Hung Vuong, a grocery store on Washington Avenue near 11th Street. Cops and K-9 dogs rushed to the shops but found no signs of bombs, police said.
A third letter was sent to Antoine Tran at his shop, China Viet News, on Arch Street near 9th.
Wong said all those who received the letters are Asian immigrants with businesses in Chinatown, South Philadelphia or Southwest Philadelphia. The South Philadelphia recipients were ethnic Chinese from Vietnam, he said.
Some other letters went to Chinese shop owners, but the letters railed against Vietnamese, Koreans and Japanese as well. One also targeted African-Americans and Jews, he said. Some contained "pretty graphic" photos of bodies of dead Asians, Wong said.
Colarulo urged anyone who receives the letters not to "blow this off as a harmless prank. It's disheartening and disgusting that we have people who feel this way."
When whoever is responsible is caught, Colarulo said, authorities will charge them with terrorist threats and ethnic intimidation.
He said police were checking for fingerprints and analyzing handwriting.
"It did look as if somebody's taken quite a bit of time," to produce the letters, Wong said. "They're handwritten, a full notebook page."
"They're [the letters] indicating that Asians are not welcome, and that they would rape the women in the community and kill the children.
25 Oct 2005,
Philadelpha Daily News
Korean Official and Professor Targeted with White Powder Threat
Letters
Guardians of the nation’s security were out in force on Tuesday after a white powdery substance was discovered in envelopes addressed to Prof. Kang Jeong-koo and Justice Minister Chun Jung-bae, two key figures in a row between the government and prosecution. The find mobilized police, the National Intelligence Service, the quarantine office and the chemicals squad.
The small amount of white powder was found in two yellow envelopes that had been dropped off at Mok-dong Post Office in Seoul. The sender field on the envelopes, which were slightly larger than A4 size, read "USA" in Latin script. The one meant for the minister contained a letter of commendation supposedly from North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, while in the one for Prof. Kang there was a piece of paper covered with foul language and insults. Both also contained pornographic images.
Everything found in the envelopes except the white powder was reportedly taken away by the NIS. A post office staff member said the powder was detected during X-ray inspection. Initial analysis of the substance showed it to be a mix of wheat flour and coffee creamer, but police have commissioned the quarantine office of the Health and Welfare Ministry to take a closer look.
Yangcheon
Police Station are checking the envelopes for fingerprints in
search of a suspect who could be upset over the justice minister’s
order to prosecutors not to arrest Prof. Kang under the National
Security Law for pro-Pyongyang remarks, notably by referring to
the Korean War as “North Korea's war of unification.”
25 Oct 2005, Chosun
Ricin Directions Shared on Internet for
Terrorists
Fighting al-Qaida marks the first time in world history that a guerilla faction has moved war from the physical domain to cyberspace, said the Army CIO.
The concepts of warfare have not changed in over 2,000 years, but the tools used for war have, Army Lt. Gen. Steven Boutelle said during a lunch address yesterday at the MILCOM 2005 conference.
Boutelle implored the audience not to get comfortable about the advances that have been made by commercial technologies. Those same technologies, Boutelle warned, are being used by terrorist groups like al-Qaida, and in some instances, America's adversaries are better at obtaining and using information to their advantage.
These groups have "fully embraced the Internet and fully embraced the technology, and they are using it to kill your people," he added.
Today, members of the terrorist network use the Internet to communicate with each other and to recruit new members, Boutelle said, adding that they have posted recipes for ricin poison, outlined the chemicals needed to make a bomb and described in vivid language the best way to shoot and kill an American soldier.
"Your enemy, your adversary, is using your information, and they do it faster, better and cheaper," Boutelle said.
The best counterattack to al-Qaida's increasing use of IT is to spiral new technologies into Iraq as soon as possible, Boutelle said. He encouraged contractors to "think about what you're bringing to the table for us."
19 Oct 2005, Government Computer News
Powders in Mail Close Royal Mail and UK Passport for Terror Alerts
Two of the city's largest administrative centers were rocked by terrorist alerts after suspicious white powder was found leaking from packages.
A section of the city's Royal Mail sorting office, in Papyrus Road, Werrington, was sealed off yesterday at 10am, after an employee saw powder leaking from a parcel.
And the city's UK Passport Office, in Aragon Court, Northminster Road, also suffered a scare when white powder was discovered in a envelope yesterday, at about 11am.
Workers in the collections area of the sorting office were moved to duties elsewhere in the building, while fire crews and police investigated.
Trucks were unable to deliver collections from postboxes around the city to the normal drop-off point.
Royal Mail spokesman James Taylor said staff had been careful to spot suspect packages even before incidents such as 9/11 and anthrax alerts in the US.
He said: "Our staff are very vigilant, and they are trained to spot any item of mail that appears suspicious.
"While this incident is rare, it does not pose any particular problems to us because procedures are well rehearsed, and we deal with a million items of mail a day in Peterborough."
The area was reopened at 1.30pm, and police later confirmed the powder was a non-toxic substance, which had not been sent maliciously.
The spokesman added that contingency plans meant there was no significant disruption to mail operations.
Mr Taylor added that the procedures were "well rehearsed" and safety of staff had been the most important factor.
In this case, bosses at the sorting office called police and the fire service straight away to deal with the problem.
However, if a more serious toxic substance was discovered, Royal Mail would defer to the emergency services and follow their advice, Mr Taylor said.
At the Passport Office, a back room was sealed off after powder was found in a letter.
But police later confirmed it was also a false alarm and the building did not need to be evacuated.
Shelley Spratt,
spokeswoman for Cambridgeshire police, added: "Both packages
were sent legitimately and they were not sent maliciously
18 Oct 2005, Evening Telegraph
Suspicious Package Addressed to CIA Shuts
Down Post Office
A post office on Hilton Head Island was shut down for about three hours Saturday after receiving a suspicious package that turned out not to be a threat.
A mail carrier brought a package that had been placed in a drop box at the Circle Center into the office at 10 Bow Circle at about 5 p.m., according to Beaufort County Sheriff's Office reports.
The 8-by-10-inch envelope had no return address and was addressed to the CIA office in Washington, D.C., with no zip code or street address.
Sheriff's Office deputies cleared the building of employees at about 6 p.m. The SLED bomb squad determined the envelope wasn't hazardous.
Postal administrators opened the package to reveal a bound notebook with writings in an undetermined language. The building was opened up at about 9 p.m.
16 Oct 2005,
Island Packet
White Powder Scare in Senator’s Mail
Forces Evacuation
An employee at the AmSouth Operations Center in South Nashville opened an envelope that contained a white powder, which brought Hazardous Materials teams and some tense moments to the facility.
Each year, Senator Bill Frist mails out a survey, and officials said it was one of those mailings that came back to the AmSouth Center with the white powder inside.
Hazardous Materials teams evacuated the building, secured the area and tested the substance, which turned out to be harmless.
Firefighters said while it’s frustrating to respond to hoaxes like this one, they have to treat every potential threat as though it were legitimate.
“We feel real good about this. We’ve made enough of them now, we have enough experience. The fire department, police department, working together with the FBI, we’ve got a protocol that we go through. Certainly we always treat it seriously, and in this particular case, there’s no threatening letter or anything with the envelope, just some powder,” said Bobby Connelly of the Nashville Fire Department.
All of the
employees at the AmSouth center were allowed to return to work
by late morning.
13 Oct 2005, WTVF News
Three Fake Bombs Evacuate Georgia Courts
Three "hoax" explosive devices were found Friday morning at the Carroll County Courthouse, said FBI spokesman Stephen Emmett.
The devices were located after a "threat call" was received at the Carroll Probate Court, Emmett said.
"One of the devices was found in a public restroom inside the courthouse and consisted of road flares mixed with electronics," Emmett said. Two other devices were found outside the courthouse, one near a dumpster, he said.
The bomb threat was phoned in about 9:30 this morning, said Carrollton Police Capt. Michael Mansour.
Police agencies from Carrollton, Carroll County and surounding jurisdictions responded to the county courthouse which is located in Carrollton, Mansour said.
Other police agencies assisting in the search of the courthouse include MARTA police, K-9 units from several departments, the State Patrol and GBI, Mansour said. The area around the courthouse was still cordoned off as of 12:45 p.m., Mansour said.
The FBI and GBI explosives teams responded to the courthouse and took the devices for further study, Emmett said.
14 Oct 2005, AJC
Bomb Scares Expensive for Businesses
A Greensboro teen's 50 bomb threat calls this spring didn't just annoy area businesses and inconvenience their customers.
They cost companies money -- thousands of dollars in some cases -- for extra security and lost time. And 17-year-old Tony Wayne Moore, who pleaded guilty Monday to making the calls, is ordered to try to repay it.
The series of threats started March 24 and ended with Moore's arrest five days later. Police tracked him down through a cell phone the teen had stolen from his church and was using to make the calls.
Only a few victims sent prosecutors claims for their losses. That included several airlines, whose operations were delayed because of four bomb threats in as many days at Piedmont Triad International Airport. The calls caused the airport to evacuate twice, delaying flights and causing other problems.
During one of the incidents, a Northwest Airlines flight had landed but was not allowed to taxi to the gate for nearly an hour, court documents indicate. The airline calculated the loss at $772.24. That included $504 for spent fuel and crew expenses at $4.79 per minute for 56 minutes.
Independence Air claimed a much greater loss -- $7,546.20 for pilot and gate agent overtime, fuel costs and maintenance.
The threats didn't do much to help Continental Airlines' punctuality. One of its flights was 111 minutes late arriving at the airport. But they only attributed 49 minutes of that to the bomb scare, court documents said. Total cost -- $126 for four hours of employee overtime.
The airport itself claimed $749.94 in additional man hours because of the threats.
"I'm not sure (Tony) quite knew the impact" he'd had at the airport, Moore's attorney, Sabrina Bailey, told a Superior Court judge during his plea hearing Monday. She said the teen had never flown.
Others who requested restitution included:
• officials with First Horizon Park, who spent $2,500 for 24-hour security after a bomb threat Moore left in a voice mail message. The threat came days before the park's inaugural baseball game.
• the Greensboro law offices of Crumley & Associates, which estimated a $5,000 loss for a two-hour evacuation caused by a bomb threat.
The judge thought that figure excessive and reduced it to $1,000.
Greensboro police said Tuesday that they did not tally the costs for responding to the bomb threats.
For at least one company, the real damage was fear.
Moore's March 27 bomb threat call to Kindred Hospital -- Greensboro left workers emotionally distraught.
Evacuation was not possible because of the critically ill patients receiving treatment , and the workers had to remain inside the hospital.
One worker suffered an anxiety attack, complete with chest pains.
"Can you imagine the anxiety and terror we felt -- knowing that any second could be our last on this earth," nursing supervisor Lee Younts wrote in a letter to prosecutors.
12 Oct 2005, Greensboro News Record
Inmate Sends Ricin and Anthrax Threat Letters to FBI and News Outlets
A state inmate serving time for bank robbery sent a series of hoax letters purporting to contain anthrax or ricin to the FBI and to several news organizations, according to a federal complaint unsealed today.
Monroe Correctional Center inmate Aaron Sloan continued to send threatening letters claiming to include the dangerous substances even after state Department of Corrections officials intercepted some of them, according to an FBI agent's affidavit.
Gary Larson, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections, said difficult constitutional issues come into play regarding the regulation of offenders' right to send mail.
"It's very difficult to be completely successful in a situation of this type," he said.
None of the roughly half-dozen letters Sloan allegedly sent between June 2004 and August 2005 actually contained anthrax or ricin. Ricin is a poison; anthrax is an acute infectious disease that gained public attention after the Sept. 11 attacks when an NBC News employee in New York contracted the disease from a contaminated letter. That case remains unsolved.
Sloan, 25, is charged with one count of conveying false information in connection with a Jan. 4 letter that was sent to Newsweek. The letter stated that the powdery substance enclosed was anthrax.
The law under which Sloan was charged became effective last December. The filing against him is among the law's first applications by Seattle-based federal prosecutors.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Miyake said the government will file additional counts relating to other letters allegedly sent by Sloan if prosecutors seek an indictment. Whether they will do that depends on several factors, including a possible mental evaluation.
In February, Sloan told investigators that he accepted responsibility for sending several of the letters but denied he was responsible for others that had other inmates' names as the senders, according to the complaint. Federal investigators say they believe Sloan is responsible for all the letters, and that he selected the names of Monroe inmates with whom he had had trouble.
Sloan's defense attorney declined to comment.
A state psychologist told investigators Sloan is a paranoid schizophrenic who suffered delusions and who quit taking medications in June 2004 while in custody, according to the complaint. The roughly half-dozen letters linked to Sloan were sent from Monroe after that date.
Medical officials at Monroe were unavailable for comment today. Larson, the corrections spokesman, said it is possible to force an inmate to take medications but "there's quite a process you have to go through." He said he could not discuss the specifics of Sloan's case.
"It is a little shocking," Assistant U.S. Attorney Miyake said of the oversight questions raised by the allegations.
Department of Corrections rules state that staff are authorized "to inspect and read incoming and outgoing mail. The inspection shall serve to prevent offenders from receiving or sending contraband, or any other material that threatens to undermine the security and order of the facility, through the mail; and to prevent criminal activity."
Those who received letters allegedly sent by Sloan reacted differently. When a letter dated Jan. 5, 2005, was sent to the Economist, the office was temporarily shut down, the complaint said.
But employees at Time magazine who received two letters that same month that purported to include anthrax believed they were hoaxes, according to the complaint, and sent the letters back to Monroe.
Today, a federal
judge ordered that Sloan — who served the last day of his
state sentence Monday — be held without bail until a hearing
Friday.
11 Oct 2005, Seattle Times
Suspected Bomb Detonated at Kohl's in Philadelphia
Area
The Montgomery County Bomb Disposal Unit detonated what police said was a "suspicious device" that was placed in front of an entrance to Kohl's Department Store at 989 Main Street, at 1:15 p.m. on Monday.
Limerick Township Police Chief William Albany said a preliminary investigation revealed Monday's incident was likely "not related" to the Suburban Bomber, who terrorized the Phoenixville area for nearly two years.
Employees and shoppers of Kohl's, Giant Food Stores and Blockbuster Video were notified shortly after 11 a.m. and safely evacuated from the building.
Albany said that police found a nylon bag outside the Men's Department entrance to Kohl's with a hand-written note taped to it that read, "THIS IS A BOMB."
A bomb squad technician X-rayed the package, revealing the contents of the bag "were not just laundry and shaving cream," Albany said.
"It was constructed in such a manner that they thought it a credible threat," Albany continued. "The X-ray showed things that were suspicious in appearance."
Investigators were unable to determine at the scene whether or not the bag contained an actual bomb, but Albany said there was no evidence to indicate it contained explosives.
The bag was destroyed by a water cannon, rendering it safe for officials to continue investigation into the incident.
Albany said that a preliminary investigation was underway and that county detectives and both ATF and FBI agents had already been notified.
A bomb squad technician wearing a full protective suit used a Giant Food Stores shopping cart to transport sandbags to the entrance of Kohl's, which were used to protect the glass storefront.
The closest person to the entranceway was a male official approximately 150 feet away who yelled twice, "fire in the hole" several seconds before the bag and its contents were detonated by a bright yellow cord.
The storefront exhibited minor damage following the blast.
Police were combing the parking lot minutes after the detonation to try to determine the contents of the nylon bag.
Albany said that the investigation will use forensic evidence gathered at the scene, including possibly fingerprints and video surveillance cameras.
Kohl's employees returned to the store at 1:38 p.m. after being treated by management to a lunch at nearby Donato's restaurant, according to a Giant employee who asked not to be named.
Limerick Township Police K-9 Unit and the Linfield Fire Company assisted the bomb squad at the scene.
Kohl's management refused comment at the scene
and again several hours later when contacted by phone.
11 Oct 2005, Phoenixville News
Police in California Investigate Powder In Mail Sent to Contractor
Police and hazmat crews responded to a chemical scare Monday morning when a worker at a Benicia-based contracting company opened an envelope containing white powder.
When the 58-year-old female employee of Bay Area Instrument & Electric Inc. opened the envelope shortly after 10:30 a.m. a fine white powder sprinkled out and onto her clothes and work area.
Benicia police, fire crews and the Solano County Hazardous Materials Team responded to the incident and contained the scene.
A testing of the suspicious material revealed it to be corn starch.
The package was sent Oct. 7 from the Houston-based company Drug Interventions Services of America, which screens for drugs in samples provided by Bay Area Instruments of employees who work in local oil refineries.
Police are
investigating the incident with U.S. Postal Inspector officials.
10 Oct 2005, Contra Costa Times
Oxford Research Lab Workers Sent Threatening
Letters by ALF
Builders and decorators working on a new laboratory at Oxford University have been sent threatening letters by animal rights extremists.
Police think the letters form part of a campaign to stop work on the new animal research facility at South Parks Road.
Detectives are investigating 18 anonymous letters sent to companies across Oxfordshire threatening action from the Animal Liberation Front.
They also believe other people may have received letters but not reported it.
'Active protest'
A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: "It is very important that anyone who is sent a threatening letter, or becomes the victim of any other harassing or intimidating behaviour, lets us know what has happened.
"Although everyone is entitled to an opinion about this very emotive issue, it is just not acceptable to act in a way which intimidates other people and threatens their livelihood.
"Thames Valley Police has worked with representatives from groups who wish to protest about the building and the university to facilitate a regular time and place for active protest.
"Criminal activity will not be tolerated from any section of the community."
Last year the university took out an injunction preventing protestors from demonstrating too near the site.
11 Oct 2005, BBC
Canadian Customs Officers Trained to Spot Letter Bombs
Customs officers are on red alert for hidden letter bombs triggered to explode in the mail they inspect.
The 120 officers at Gateway have been trained to intercept bombs or explosives in letters, greeting cards, books, video cassettes and other items in the mail.
On a wall of the Dixie Rd. processing plant are posters of letter bombs and warnings officers should remember when they open a package for inspection.
The posters alert them to loose wires, timing devices, electrical parts, tape or other suspicious items that can be hidden in letters.
Patrizia Giolti, of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), said letter bombs seized in other countries have been circulated to law enforcement agencies here.
UNABOMBER
Some of the bombs were the work of the notorious Unabomber, Theodore John Kaczynski, who sent mail bombs to people for more than 18 years before his arrest.
"Our officers receive ongoing training and are always kept up to date," says Giolti. "We have to keep pace with the criminal element."
Bob Burfield, CBSA director of postal operations, says an air horn is sounded when explosives are found.
"Security is very important," he says. "Whenever the horn blasts, employees know they have to leave."
But Ron Moran, of the Customs Excise Union, said officers require more training to keep up with the threats.
"We very often come across real or inert explosive devices," Moran says, adding three live hand grenades were found recently at Gateway and seizures of those weapons are becoming more common.
9 Oct 2005, Toronto Sun
Mail Bomb Delivered to Italian Official
A parcel bomb
was delivered this morning to the office of the Council Trade
Assessor of Catania, Mimmo Rotella. Someone managed to enter his
office without being seen and left the package on his desk whilst
he was absent. The bomb was contained in a white envelope and
comprised of two batteries, a spring detonator, 100 grams of gunpowder
and some nails. The councillor found the package as he returned
to his office and finding it suspicious he called the Police.
An X-ray of the package disclosed its nature which bomb experts
say could have caused injury at a distance of up to one and a
half meters. An enquiry has been opened into the matter, adding
to that launched earlier this week when a series of threatening
calls against the deputy Mayor, Nello Musumesi, were received
by the Fire Brigade and Ambulance service.
7 Oct 2005, AGI
'Peace bomb' Delivered to National Gallery
in Australia
A parcel bearing the words "peace bomb" was removed
from outside the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne today.
Victoria Police confirmed the incident took place but said they were seeking further details. ABC radio reported that a parcel was removed from outside the front of the gallery.
"Earlier this morning St Kilda Road was closed because of a parcel which had 'peace bomb' written on it which was put outside the National Gallery," presenter Jon Faine said.
"There were two large white vans with blackened windows, out of one of which emerged the bomb disposal squad's robotic device."
There is another
road block on St Kilda Road but a police spokeswoman said a bomb
was not suspected in this case.
7 Oct 2005, AAP
Analysts Say Malaysia Mystery Mail Designed
to Scare
Suspicious packages that triggered a security alert in Malaysia's diplomatic district this week were probably sent by scaremongers with no serious ties to well-known terror groups, political analysts said on Thursday.
Slim packages containing a yellow, oily liquid -- and in one case a powder -- have been delivered to at least 11 embassies over the past two days, accompanied by a message condemning the countries for mistreating Muslims.
"This is a hoax," said terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies in Singapore. "But every hoax must be checked out."
The suspect mail arrived at the U.S., British, French, German, Australian, Canadian and Russian missions, among others, police said, just a few days after three bombers set off explosions on Indonesia's resort island of Bali, killing themselves and 19 people, and wounding 146.
Although still testing some of the packages, Malaysian police say they appear to be a hoax aimed at sowing fears of a chemical attack. Analysts said they did not think a terrorist group would broadcast its intentions ahead of a possible attack.
"Normally we don't see the Jemaah Islamiah giving warnings ahead," said political analyst Bruce Gale, referring to the al Qaeda-linked group blamed for a string of attacks, including bombings in Bali three years ago that killed 202 people.
"Jemaah Islamiah goes for the kill. They want high casualties," said Gale, who is based in Singapore with consultancy Hill and Associates.
The packages were probably sent by disaffected individuals with no serious connections to terrorists, he said.
Another analyst ruled out the possibility that the packages signified militants' intentions of violent attacks.
"I don't see any grounds for believing that their aims are to 'attack' these installations in a physical sense," said political scientist Harold Crouch, of Australian National University.
"Can we classify as militant a group that sends hoax packages with CDs and oily fluid along with its messages?" he asked.
Malaysia has not experienced any high-profile bombings of the kind seen in Indonesia, but there was a disquieting factor, Gale said.
"The fact is that two of the most wanted men in the region are Malaysian citizens and one can always speculate that there could be other Malaysian exports which the authorities don't know anything about, so that is always a worry," Gale told Reuters.
"NON-SERIOUS GROUPS"
Indonesian officials have accused fugitive Malaysians Azahari Husin and Noordin Top of being the leaders of Jemaah Islamiah, and they are the prime targets in the manhunt for the masterminds of the weekend suicide bombings in Bali.
Former Australian diplomat Richard Broinowski said the wide selection of embassies receiving the packages showed a scattergun approach on the part of the senders.
"My view would be it's probably a fairly ill-thought-out attempt by non-serious groups," said the former ambassador to Vietnam and South Korea.
In March 2004, a small explosive device was hurled outside the Australian embassy in Kuala Lumpur but caused no injuries or damage. No one claimed responsibility and no arrests were made.
"For Malaysia, it is rather embarrassing," said Gale. "We've had a series of these sort of security incidents at embassies in the last few years and although the Malaysians have established a special police unit to deal with them, they're still happening."
6 Oct 2005, Reuters
Ten Embassies Receive Chemical Attack Letters Sparking Security Alert in Malaysia
A suspected hoax designed to sow fears of a chemical attack in Malaysia's diplomatic district struck at five more embassies on Wednesday, police and diplomats said.
Slim packages containing a yellow, oily liquid -- and in one case a powder -- have been delivered to at least 10 embassies in the past two days, with a message condemning the countries for mistreating Muslims, Kuala Lumpur's police chief said.
The U.S., British, French and Australian missions all said they had received the suspicious packages in the mail on Wednesday, but none of the missions were evacuated. The packages were handed over to police and sent for analysis.
The Bernama news agency said the Russian embassy also received a similar envelope. An embassy official, however, declined to comment.
"I think it's normal oil, it's nothing dangerous," Mustafa Abdullah told Reuters by phone from police headquarters.
The government said the country remained safe and that foreigners should not be unduly worried.
"Whatever precautionary measure that must be taken will be taken," Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said. "Even after the September 11 (2001), there had been no backlash on foreign missions here."
Diplomats and police had already been put on alert after suicide bombings killed 22 people last Saturday on the resort island of Bali, in neighbouring Indonesia. The security scare coincided with the eve of Ramadan, the holy Muslim fasting month.
"Yes, we received this morning a CD with traces of yellow liquid inside," a spokesman for the Australian High Commission said.
The French embassy reported a similar discovery. "The police came to take a look and they took away the envelope. There was no evacuation," a French embassy spokeswoman said.
On Tuesday, the Japanese embassy was the first to notice the package and evacuated its staff while police and hazardous-chemicals experts swept through the building.
Within hours, similar packages were found at the Canadian, German, Singaporean, Philippine and Thai missions.
"The fact that this scare happened soon after the Bali attack is a warning signal. It may be innocent but we cannot take chances," Syed Hamid, the foreign minister, told reporters.
Police checked the liquid found in the Japanese embassy package and deemed it harmless, police chief Mustafa said on Tuesday, but checks were still being made on the other packages.
Mustafa and one diplomat said the packages contained a note accusing the respective countries of abusing Muslims.
Mustafa quoted one note as saying: "You have been infected with a biological and chemical weapon. May Allah curse you for what you have done to the Muslim ummah (community)."
The packages were all sent from Malaysian addresses, including the northeastern states of Kelantan and Terengganu, he said. These states are strongly Muslim.
Mustafa declined to speculate on who was behind the packages.
In March 2004,
a small explosive device was hurled outside the Australian embassy
in Kuala Lumpur but caused no injuries or damage. No one claimed
responsibility and no arrests were made
5 October 2005, Reuters
Parcel Bomb Found in Georgia
No one was injured after a south Fayetteville woman discovered what is believed to be an explosive device inside her home Tuesday morning, police said.
The Clayton County Bomb Squad was called in to assist after Fayetteville officers agreed the item looked suspicious, said Fayetteville Police spokesman Steve Crawshaw.
The woman called police to her home at 180 Woodstream Way in the Woodgate subdivision around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, and ultimately several nearby homes were evacuated while the bomb squad took care of the device, Crawshaw said.
The woman had received no threats before noticing the suspicious item, Crawshaw added.
“We don’t know where it came from,” he said.
Detectives collected evidence at the scene to send to the crime lab for processing and a report from the bomb squad may indicate whether the item contained explosives or not, Crawshaw said. Witnesses were also being interviewed and the investigation is ongoing, he said Tuesday afternoon.
The woman, whose name was not available at press time, is believed to be divorced, Crawshaw said.
During the
incident, one resident became irate at officers when he was not
allowed to drive home because the street had been closed off for
safety precautions, Crawshaw said. Everyone else seemed to understand,
however, he added.
4 October 2005, Fayette Citizen
Japanese Embassy Shut in Malaysia Mail Scare
A security scare swept Malaysia's diplomatic community on Tuesday after seven embassies received suspicious packages, shutting the Japanese mission, police and diplomats said.
Tokyo evacuated its embassy staff after receiving a slim package containing an oily liquid and a compact disc, similar to packages found on Tuesday by the Canadian, Italian, German, Singaporean, Philippine and Thai embassies, police said.
Police checked the liquid found in the Japanese embassy package and deemed it harmless, Kuala Lumpur police chief Mustafa Abdullah told Reuters. But he said checks were still to be carried out on those found at the other embassies.
"It's a harmless substance, just normal oil," he said.
"We have to evacuate the place, it's a normal procedure. The Thai and German embassies have also received similar packages. My men are heading there. We believe they are from the same source, and containing the same substance. But we have to verify that."
Police said the packages were shipped via express mail from the central Selangor state and the northeastern Kelantan state.
In April 2004, police said the Japanese and Singaporean diplomatic missions had received threatening letters over their countries' decision to send troops to Iraq, soon after a reported threat to assassinate the Thai ambassador in Kuala Lumpur.
The authors of the letters were not identified.
And the United States shut its embassy briefly in September 2004 after a white powder was discovered in a mailed envelope. It was later proved to be non-toxic.
The German, Singapore and Thai embassies did not evacuate their missions on Tuesday. Officials at these three embassies confirmed the police reports but declined to comment further.
A policeman at the building where the Canadian embassy is located said it had also received a suspicious package, but diplomats could not immediately be reached for comment. It was unclear if the Canadian mission had evacuated any staff.
"We received suspicious mail. We reported to the police and there was an announcement to evacuate the building," a Japanese embassy spokesman, Satoshi Tamai, told Reuters.
Police closed the road outside the Japanese embassy for about three hours while a team of hazardous chemicals experts wearing goggles and orange overalls went inside. Police bomb experts and firemen were also called to the scene.
The all-clear was given at about 5 p.m. (0900 GMT) and some staff returned to the embassy.
10 October 2004, Reuters