30 Powder-Laced Letters Sent To Banks

FBI Testing Suspicious Powder Sent To Chase Bank Branches In 8 Cities

(AP)  At least 30 letters containing suspicious powder have been mailed to Chase banks in eight cities but so far appear to be harmless, authorities said Tuesday.

The FBI said it was investigating "a series of letters sent to banks around the country."

"These threat letters contain a powder substance," the FBI said in a statement. "At this point, field tests on the powder have been negative. Additional testing will be completed. Even sending a hoax letter is a serious crime."

A law enforcement official said the letters were mailed to Chase bank branches in or near Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Newark, N.J., New York, Oklahoma City and Washington.

The letters all appear to be from the same source and were sent from South Texas, the official said. They began showing up at the banks on Monday, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The U.S. Postal Service and state and local officials are also investigating. Postal inspector JoJan Henderson says the letters appear to be related.

No injuries were reported. JP Morgan Chase & Co. spokeswoman Mary Jane Rogers says some employees, including a pregnant woman, were examined as a precaution.

Neither the local Postal Service nor the FBI has released the text of the letters or their origin.

Eight banks in the Denver area and eight in the Oklahoma City area received letters containing white powder, officials there said. All Denver branches reopened Tuesday.

In Oklahoma, the state Department of Health is conducting tests on the substance found in the notes, but Gary Johnson, an FBI spokesman there, said preliminary assessments done locally determined it to be harmless calcium.

Johnson said the Oklahoma letters indicated that the threat was "based on past actions of the bank" and that the letters implied that the opener was going to die.

Additionally, The Denver Post reported that one envelope that was opened by a machine Monday night spilled powder at a Chase credit card processing center in Elgin, Ill. Another letter was received there Tuesday, the newspaper reported. Employees there washed themselves off and did not report injuries.

[eggy1620]

Some innocent pastry chef trying to pay his bills is going to go to the chair over this.

[tbuckl]

Banks like Bank of America has been *** the public for a long time. These banks are like infected unwanted diseased *****. They are stealing from the poor, those who can not afford to lose another dollar. Bank of America waits until midnight to enter deposits, even cash deposits so that they can steal money from the public by use of overdraft fees. It is about time American citizens deal with these criminal, it is clear the government will do nothing but print more paper and call it money. Bankers are evil, they sucked the life out of the American Dream and turned it into a nightmare. Bankers can not be trusted to care about America, they are our country''s biggest downfall.

[greeneyes222]

I don''t hold with any terrorist activities, but otoh I can''t say I''m surprised people are reacting to the way they''ve been treated by the banks.

[lindh4]

These banks don''t need powder, but they do use large quantities of kosher bacon grease. Bend over once again, ye taxpayers, support the fat capitalist pigs.

[wtf1999]

tannerbird, *** are you trying to say? Other than the first few words, the rest of your comment is a bunch of gibberish. . . . . .

Besides that, who the he11 cares what 70 other countries think . . . . this is the USA''s election. . . . we can make our own decisions for the new President!

[tannerbird]

BREAKING NEWS-------70 COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD SAID 4 TO 1 THAT OBAMA WOULD BE BEST FOR THE USA THEY KNOW JOHN MCCAIN AND PALIN THE WORLD SAYS IT SO JOHN ALONG WITH THE USA.

[Michael Arnold]

Yeah, looks like the idiots in Washington and Wall Street might have finally went too far this time. The People clearly said "NO" and Washington then pissed on the people.

Wow. Gotta admit, they absolutely have no fear of the citizenry.

[kittykatty2]

Sounds like some stupid azz teenagers with too much time on their hands to me.

[slim1h2o]

The people are mad. When that turns to hopelessness, you have a real problem.




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Posted by sincityq at 04:58 PM : Oct 21, 2008


Yup,,well,,, the people spoke,,and said no of the bailouts,,,

Looks like someone is doing something about it,,,well,, a half hearted attempt anyways,,

[importgrl727]

JUST an FYI, the 700 billion package was "forced" by the government. If you have read any of the details, this was loan was contested by several of the financial institutions, and the government responded with a "take it or else" attitude. Any bank that did not need/accept this "loan" would be left to fend for themselves going forward.

[Redoubt]

There''s no condoning this kind of behavior but... all things considered, with the governtment giving the banks a free $700 billion ticket while regular people are being kicked out of their homes by those same banks, you can understand the frustration and the anger.

There''s going to have be some some responsibility taken somewhere, by someone for this mess. The people are mad. When that turns to hopelessness, you have a real problem.