Rowlett Man Sentenced For Mailing White Powder Hoax Letters

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ROWLETT (CBSDFW.COM) - The man behind a white powder scare that lasted six years, Hong Truong, was sentenced to the federal pen.

Truong, 67, will spend the next five years in prison for mailing more than 400 letters containing white powder to businesses, embassies and schools around the world.

He put harmless cornstarch in each envelope, but his actions were costly. Officials estimate the scares cost taxpayers $2.8 million for emergency responders to investigate each one.

Truong's targets were random. more than 100 schools and daycare centers, the empire state building, government buildings and embassies. He sent his first batch almost exactly seven years ago.

Truong was finally nabbed a year and a half ago.

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