Times, P-I get hoax mailings labeled "anthrax"

The Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Wednesday were among media outlets across the country to have received an envelope labeled "anthrax."

The FBI has determined the mailings to be a hoax, said Special Agent Robbie Burroughs, spokeswoman for the FBI in Seattle.

An arrest has been made in Sacramento, Calif., related to the case, Burroughs said.

Several newspapers and television stations, along with at least one congressman's office, received mailings with the same fictitious Sacramento return address, containing an envelope marked "anthrax" and a CD labeled with a digital image of former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The powder in all the mailings tested has been negative for anthrax, said FBI agent Darrell Foxworth in San Diego.

"If you look through the hole in the CD, you can see it's a Domino Sugar packet," said Eric Rosebrock, facility operations manager for The Seattle Times. "It looked like a publicity stunt."

A mail-desk supervisor found the package addressed to the Times and called Rosebrock, who determined the "silly joke" was not a threat. Rosebrock said The Times will turn the package over to the FBI today as evidence.

The Post-Intelligencer also received such a mailing and also assumed it was a hoax, Burroughs said.

"From all appearances, it was not anthrax or anything harmful," said Post-Intelligencer managing editor David McCumber.

A hazmat team was dispatched to the P-I's office at 101 Elliott Ave. W. at about 5:50 p.m. Wednesday.

"It was determined there wasn't any kind of issue," said Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman Dana Vander Houwen.

An FBI agent took the envelope as evidence, Burroughs said.

The FBI says Marc M. Keyser, 66, was taken into custody at his home in Sacramento on Wednesday. He is charged with three counts of sending a hoax letter. According to the FBI, he'd sent more than 120 envelopes containing a compact disc and a packet of sugar labeled "Anthrax Sample" along with a biohazard symbol. The CD was titled "Anthrax: Shock & Awe Terror." Investigators wouldn't disclose what was on the CDs.

More mailings will probably be received over the next few days; recipients should contact their local FBI office, said FBI agent Steve Dupre in Sacramento.

The packages the agency has identified so far were sent to The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Charlotte Observer in North Carolina, two Sacramento TV stations and the office of Rep. George Radanovich in Modesto, Calif., Dupre said.

"We don't have a number, but we think there are more than the ones received so far," Dupre said.

Anthrax mailed to congressional offices and others in 2001 killed five people and sickened 17.

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.

Noelene Clark: 206-464-2321 or nclark@seattletimes.com.