BOSTON, Feb. 1, 2007
"Regret" At Ads That Sparked Bomb Scare
2 People Arrested; Turner Broadcasting "Regrets" Scare Caused By Devices It Says Aren't Dangerous
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Boston Alert A Hoax
The series of suspicious devices raising alert in Boston turned out to be an advertising campaign for Cartoon Network. Gov. Deval and Police Commissioner Davis addressed the media.
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An electronic device removed from where it had been hanging beneath an overpass in Boston, Jan. 15, 2007. (AP)
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Two members of the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority police carry a bag of circuit board pieces after a suspicious package containing the boards was detonated by the Boston Bomb Squad near the Sullivan Square subway station, Jan. 31, 2007. (AP)
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Peter Berdovsky, 27, of Arlington, and Sean Stevens, 28, of Charlestown, were each arrested Wednesday night on one felony charge of placing a hoax device and one charge of disorderly conduct, state Attorney General Martha Coakley said.
In a news release announcing Stevens' arrest, she said the men worked together to place the devices. At an earlier news conference she said Berdovsky had been hired to place the devices.
Highways, bridges and a section of the Charles River were shut down and bomb squads were sent in Wednesday before authorities declared the devices were harmless.
"It's a hoax — and it's not funny," said Gov. Deval Patrick, who said he'll speak to the state's attorney general "about what recourse we may have."
Turner Broadcasting, a division of Time Warner Inc. and parent of Cartoon Network, later said the devices were part of a promotion for the TV show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” a surreal series about a talking milkshake, a box of fries and a meatball.
"The packages in question are magnetic lights that pose no danger," Turner said in a statement, issued a few hours after reports of the first devices came in.
It said the devices have been in place for two to three weeks in 10 cities: Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Ore., Austin, Texas, San Francisco and Philadelphia.
"We regret that they were mistakenly thought to pose any danger," the company said.
Complicating all of this, adds CBS News correspondent Bob Orr, is a separate bomb scare that happened earlier Wednesday at the Medical Center in Boston. Officials say a disgruntled employee is suspected of planting a phony pipe-bomb. It was not a real explosive.
The marketing company responsible for the campaign, Interference Inc., had no immediate comment. A woman who answered the phone at the New York-based firm's offices on Wednesday afternoon said the firm's CEO was out of town and would not be able to comment until Thursday.
There were no reports from police Wednesday of residents in the other nine cities spotting similar devices.
Authorities are investigating whether Turner and any other companies should be criminally charged, Coakley said. It wasn't immediately clear Wednesday who might have hired Berdovsky.
“We're not going to let this go without looking at the further roots of how this happened to cause the panic in this city,” Coakley said at a news conference Wednesday night.
Those conducting the campaign should have known the devices could cause panic because they were placed in sensitive areas, she said. Turner did not notify officials of the publicity campaign until around 5 p.m., nearly four hours after the first calls came in about the devices, she and others said.
At least 14 of the devices were found, Coakley said.
"Hoaxes are a tremendous burden on local law enforcement and counter-terrorism resources and there's absolutely no place for them in a post-9/11 world," Knocke said.
Authorities said some of the objects looked like circuit boards or had wires hanging from them.
The first device was found at a subway and bus station underneath Interstate 93, forcing the shutdown of the station and the highway.
Later, police said four calls, all around 1 p.m., reported devices at the Boston University Bridge and the Longfellow Bridge, both of which span the Charles River, at a Boston street corner and at the Tufts-New England Medical Center.
The package near the Boston University bridge was found attached to a structure beneath the span, authorities said.
Subway service across the Longfellow Bridge between Boston and Cambridge was briefly suspended, and Storrow Drive was closed as well. A similar device was found Wednesday evening just north of Fenway Park, police spokesman Eddy Chrispin said.
Wanda Higgins, a 47-year-old Weymouth resident and a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital, heard about the threat as she watched television news coverage while preparing to leave work at 4 p.m.
"I saw the bomb squad guys carrying a paper bag with their bare hands," Higgins said. "I knew it couldn't be too serious."
Messages seeking additional comment from the Atlanta-based Cartoon Network were left with several publicists.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 92 CommentsYou can't be serious. If you have seen what these advertisements are you would have to take that comment back. Although I am familiar with Aqua Teen Hunger Force (the TV show from which the movie is derived that these ads are publicizing) I do not live in Boston and have not seen these ads until today. But one look at these (even from an online picture) and you can tell they are harmless - you should be able to tell this even if you have no idea what a Mooninite is (the character depicted). They are light bulbs attached to a piece of wood with a couple of batteries to power the bulbs!!! The lengthy investigation you speak of should have consisted of one police officer going to the scene and taking one look and realizing it was not a threat. It is ridiculous that this would get so blown out of proportion. It is sad that people are so eager to make a story out of nothing that they will abandon all common sense. The entire city of Boston, the police, and anyone who reported this "potential terrorist plot" made themselves look silly and we'll be laughing about this one for awhile.
Fox has plenty of pics.
In place for so long?
Why didn't anyone see/report the installers of these devices?
Wow.
Boston Massachusetts right? Don't they have a Senator form that state who thinks he's a funny guy also?
Now I know why John Kerry keeps his seat!! If the folks from Boston are any example.
You have got to be kidding me ! All in the name of ratings.. who the bleep comes up with bleep like this.. Is the world so hungry for entertainment ? Bleep.. get a hobby !!!!!
AVOID THE UNITED STATES.
America is experiencing FASCISM right now.
We're close to Civil War 2.
Posted by Bigmac_what at 05:39 PM : Jan 31, 2007
Bush/Cheney/Rice won re-election by screaming that the boogeyman is right around the corner. They continuously justifiy illegal acts by keeping the boogeyman close at hand. "He'll get us if we don't do this, he'll get us if we don't do that", etc.
The media realizes an opportunity for sensationalism when they see it.
Between the chronic cowards who believe the neocons and the media capitalizing on that cowardice, you get this exaggerated result.
Believe it or not, we had people here running around arresting people on Halloween who dressed up as Osama Bin Laden.
Hitler's ok, the devil's ok, but Bin Laden gets you atrip downtown.
Paranoia is the neocon currency and they stoke it daily.
What an irresponsible and devilish bunch of bas-tards, considering the kind of atmosphere that has been prevailing in the nation!
All I can say is the police of Boston should react like this every time Senator Ted Kennedy drives a car.
Gov. Deval Patrick
Oh- I beg to differ. This is hysterical. Good work Master Shake!!!
Got to agree, how many times can you cry wolf before nobody pays any attention to the real thing.
This was bad police work and over reaction pure and simple.
How come Boston was the only city to run around screaming the "sky is falling"?
Posted by chicagoboy22 at 07:11 PM : Jan 31, 2007"
Yes, that psychological 'win' is a partial victory for the maniac muslims.
Of course, we can't expect to win all; can we? LOL
Hey Bostonians, "need to get away"???
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This was bad police work and over reaction pure and simple.
Posted by thgdriver at 07:10 PM : Jan 31, 2007
FDR said it best in the 30's--- "We have nothing to fear but fear itself".
He was talking about something else but it sure fits Boston today.
A) The mayor of Boston needs to switch to decaf.
B) The devices were never intended to be interpreted as explosive devices. As I understand it, they were essentially refrigerator magnets with lights on them.
C) Don't punish the cartoon network, fine the idiots who initially reported the things as bombs.
If they're going to attack the company in court over the matter, they may as well fine the telephone companies for providing disguisable housings (payphones) for explosive devices.
-ring!- "HIT THE DECK! IT'S A BOMB!"
I mean, it's absurd.
They welded all the manholes shut for miles, and installed concrete barriers and miles of security fencing. They patrolled the streets with dogs, and set out guards armed with automatic weapons, and defined areas for the press and free speech, etc.
Boston really is a paranoid place.
"It's a hoax %u2014 and it's not funny."
Gov. Deval Patrick
I don't recall, I do remember the Democratic convention in Chicago and the police riot during Hubert Humphreys campaign.
Those responsible for the idea were short on common sense.
That was not the case in Boston today.
This WASN'T a hoax or someone trying to make people thing there were bombs everywhere! They didn't resemble bombs...they resembled (and were) little signs meant for a promotion! America has gone insane!! A paper bag full of *** would have been more alarming!
I certainly do not, they over reacted. Think about it, what if all 10 city's reacted the same way?
Luckily, Boston was the only City that ran around yelling "the sky is falling".
I think it was just a slow day in Boston and the police were looking for something to do besides writing traffic tickets, otherwise, one or two bomb sniffing dogs could have put this to bed in an hour or so.
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