Man Arrested In Suspicious Powder Mailings

Feds Charge N.M. Man With Sending 65 Threatening Letters To Financial Institutions Nationwide

(CBS/AP)  A man apparently upset about losing more than $60,000 when the government took over a failed bank has been arrested on charges alleging he mailed threatening letters containing suspicious powder to banks and federal offices, authorities said Tuesday.

Richard Leon Goyette, who also goes by the name Michael Jurek, was arrested Monday at the Albuquerque airport and is scheduled to make a preliminary court appearance later today. He is charged with a single count of knowingly and intentionally conveying false and misleading information.

The letters, mailed to Chase Bank branches, FDIC offices and the Office of Thrift Supervision, contained white powder and threats warning that whoever opened the letters would die within 10 days, reports CBS News correspondent Bob Orr. Field tests on the letters proved the powder to be non-hazardous.

"Mr. Goyette's alleged criminal actions caused emergency responders and hazardous response teams immense unnecessary labor and expense, diverted personnel from actual emergencies, completely disrupted business at these financial institutions, and caused untold emotional distress to those who received letters," said James T. Jacks, acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

Goyette is accused of mailing 65 threatening letters in October to financial institutions and federal regulatory offices in 12 states. Sixty-four of the letters contained an unidentified white powder. Officials said Tuesday that the powder was calcium carbonate, a major component of blackboard chalk.

The 65th letter was to Chase Bank. It contained no powder but included a threat of the "McVeighing of your corporate headquarters within six months." Timothy McVeigh was executed for the 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people.

The other letters, included the message "It's payback time," according to the FBI.

Investigators say one day prior to the letters being postmarked, Goyette rented a car in New Mexico. He returned the car 24 hours later after driving 630 miles. Investigators believe he made a round trip to Amarillo, a distance of about 568 miles, Orr reports.

Goyette waived his right to detention and identification hearings Tuesday during an initial appearance in Albuquerque and will be returned to Texas to face the charges. He did not have an attorney present at the initial appearance.

Robert E. Casey Jr., special agent in charge of the Dallas FBI office, said Goyette had an airplane ticket to a domestic destination when federal agents arrested him. Goyette has a criminal background, but Casey declined to say where and when he had been arrested.

In late September, officials said, Goyette sent e-mails to the Office of Thrift Supervision, a federal agency that a day earlier had taken over Washington Mutual Bank, officials said. In one e-mail, Goyette wrote that he lost $63,525 in stock because of the bank's failure.

Goyette e-mailed the agency three days later, providing his name and New Mexico mailing address, officials said. Goyette wrote: "This seizure was the final straw and I will now pursue any path to get the return of my investment. Since legal means are apparently useless, I will have to consider any viable method applicable to rightfully reclaim my stolen funds."

About three weeks after that e-mail, threatening letters began showing up at the FDIC, the Office of Thrift Supervision and branches of Chase Bank, which had bought Washington Mutual's deposits, branches and loan portfolio from the FDIC, officials said.

[fush2]

what baby powder...seriously if its nothing serious then let the guy go..tax payers money is always going to ***

[kuei12]

""Mr. Goyette''s alleged criminal actions caused emergency responders and hazardous response teams immense unnecessary labor and expense, diverted personnel from actual emergencies,""

And the banks caused the FDIC, SEC and Federal reserve immense unnecessary labor and TAXPAYER''S expense, diverted personnel from actual emergencies

[ctla567]

Goyette goes to jail and top dogs of those failed banks get big bonuses. Is this fair?

[jizzumjim]

i''d rather have the fbi running around on wild goose chases like this than any thing else they do. install 3rd world puppet governments, murder branch davidians, test chemicals on civilians without their knowledge, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.,

[mrnrgmizer]

-Sorry but you need to adjust your aiming and make it at the bankers, and politicians who joyfully bankrupted us, siphoning our savings and spend it in wars in the Middle-East.

Posted by trishab59-01

Indeed and they aren''t the only ones...The forces that urged the changes in the banking system has to be scrutinized deeply...Find out who did what to influence... who... when... and for what goals....Yes that''s a lot to do, but is necessary if we are to find the true criminals behind the loss of our jobs, savings, equity, and of course bankruptcy disasters going on for the next year. This goes back to the telecommunications, Banking, and transportation industries....

[countslapula]

Let me guess... today''s lunatice is a) conservative, and b) religious.

[cameraphone]

There is a direct line from those who rant about "The United Nations is a World Govenment" and the Oklahoma Bombing.

[cameraphone]

MidLifeVoter - I agree. Terrorist Cheerleaders should give some thought to where their words are taking people.

[grimreap21]

From above story : "He is charged with a single count of knowingly and intentionally conveying false and misleading information."

If this is a crime then where were the FBI when GW Bush was doing it. Why didn''t they arrest him?

[rudy6543]

Has anyone noticed that it took nearly eight years to find the culprit who was supposed to be the gov. scientist who actually did send out anthrax in the mail, yet when these idiots send out baby powder just to scare someone, it takes the authorities only months, if not days to catch the perp?

[midlifevoter]

This was a no-brainer!! The terrorists are here in the USA as US Citizens exhibiting anti-social behavior. A DHS report released a month ago predicted another terrorist attack in the next 10 years. This was written and publicized with the intention of spinning the idea that only foriegn citizens would desire to attack or terrorize the United States. There is a double standard. This 47 year old who sent 65 angry letters filled with white powder and harsh rhetoric against banks, is a terrorist. The school yard massacres are done by terrorists. They are US Citizens and are very dangerous. The Department of Homeland Security needs to reform it''s methods of qualifying a terrorist and issuing warnings. While we made advances to catch up to foreign countries for safeguarding airplanes, but little has been done to safeguard schools and work areas.

If Richard Leon Goyette listens to Rush Limbaugh radio episodes, I think it is time to bring Rush Limbaugh into court and share some responsibility for terrifying the public with his ranting and offensive rhetoric. If he watches Lou Dobbs, then Lou Dobbs needs to be hauled into court and take a break from his TV ranting.

Terrorists are not simply born as terrorists. They learn the behavior and are led by icons who push the anti-social idealogies.

[jon_mccain]

Wow this was slow. Remember when this happened under Bush? They caught the guy the next day!

Posted by mrs_bun

Who was it?