On Wednesday January 21, approximately 13 powder-laden envelopes were received at the office of the Wall Street Journal in New York City. The letters reportedly bear a Knoxville, Tennessee postmark. New York City Police Department's Emergency Services Unit and the FBI responded to the scene and are testing the letters to determine whether they contain a hazardous substance.
An additional letter was also received today at Harvard Law School addressed to Alan Dershowitz. This letter was also postmarked Knoxville, Tennessee.
“Right now our first priority is the safety of our citizens,” said Richard Lambert, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Knoxville. “We take these matters seriously and will investigate all leads to determine who sent the letters and why.”
This investigation is being conducted by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces in New York, Boston and Knoxville in partnership with the United States Postal Inspection Service.
Anyone with information concerning who may be sending these letters is requested to contact the Knoxville FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force at 865-470-0007 or at www.fbi.gov.
If you receive a letter, please notify the FBI and your local authorities. Information on how to handle suspicious mail can be found at www.fbi.gov.
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Thursday, January 22, 2009
Suspicious White Powder Letters Postmarked from Knoxville Received in New York and Massachusetts
Thursday, October 23, 2008
FBI Seeking Information about Threatening Hoax Letters
Georgia is among the 11 states to which letters were sent from Texas.
Today the FBI issued photographs of a threatening hoax letter and its envelope, one of more than 50 such letters received this week by financial institutions in at least 11 states. Many of the letters have contained an unknown powder substance. The letters have all been postmarked from Amarillo, Texas.
The FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and state and local authorities are investigating each of the incidents. Field tests conducted thus far on the powder have been negative. Additional testing is being conducted at regional laboratories. The FBI and our law enforcement partners are following up on numerous leads.
“Sending a hoax letter is a serious crime, and a drain on law enforcement resources,” said Section Chief Doug Perdue, Investigative and Operations Section, FBI Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate. “We will continue to work diligently to identify and arrest those responsible.”
Anyone with information about these letters should contact the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, or their local authorities. You can also submit a tip online at www.fbi.gov. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible.
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