Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Mail Bombs

Mail Bombs --- ===


Reference:

  • US Postal Service advice: https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/raddocs/bombs.htm
  • Voice of America A Look at Mail Attacks in the US Voice of America
  • Wikipedia:
    •  Letter bomb A letter bomb, also called parcel bomb, mail bomb or post bomb, is an explosive device sent via the postal service, and designed with the intention to injure or ... William Clyde Allen, a U.S. Navy veteran, was charged this week on seven counts for sending letters containing ricin  2013, Shannon Guess Richardson, a Texas actress, sent ricin-laced letters to then-President Barack Obama and then-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg  None of the individuals involved in those cases was convicted of terrorism, while terror charges have been brought against people affiliated with known international terrorist organizations.
    • Category: Deaths by Letter Bomb
      • Ruth First

      GEfat Ghazi
      Dele Giwa 19 October 1986) was a Nigerian journalist, the first Editor in Chief of Newswatch, Nigeria’s path-breaking newsmagazine killed by a mail bomb in his Lagos home on 19 October 1986, probably by government security services. It was two days after he had been interviewed by State Security Service (SSS) officials. Report later found General Ibrahim Babangida and two security chiefs, Brigadier General Halilu Akilu and Col. A.K.Togun are accountable for the death of Dele Giwa by letter bomb.

US Postal Service advice: https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/raddocs/bombs.htm
Mail Bombs


Poster 84 - Suspicious Mail or PackagesIt is important to be alert for suspicious parcels, but keep in mind that a mail bomb is an extremely rare occurrence. To illustrate just how rare, Postal Inspectors have investigated an average of 16 mail bombs over the last few years. By contrast, each year, the Postal Service processed over 170 billion pieces of mail. That means during the last few years, the chances that a piece of mail actually contains a bomb average far less than one in 10 billion!
Still, those who are familiar with the characteristics of suspect parcels can help to avert a tragedy. This actually occurred in a 1991 incident, when a Dumfries, VA, letter carrier identified a suspect parcel in a collection box. The parcel contained a bomb intended for the sender's estranged husband. By acting quickly, the carrier may have saved the man's life. Although the appearance of mail bombs may vary greatly, here are some characteristics that have repeatedly shown up:
  • Mail bombs may have excessive postage. Normally a bomber does not want to mail a parcel over the counter and have to deal face-to-face with a window clerk.
  • The return address may be fictitious or non-existent.
  • The postmark may show a different location than the return address.
  • Mail bombs may bear restricted endorsements, such as "Personal" or "Private." This is particularly important when the addressee does not usually receive personal mail at the office.
  • Mail bombs may display distorted handwriting, or the name and address may be prepared with homemade labels or cut-and-paste lettering.
  • Parcel bombs may be unprofessionally wrapped with several combinations of tape used to secure the package, and may be endorsed "Fragile--Handle With Care" or "Rush--Do Not Delay."
  • Letter bombs may feel rigid, or appear uneven or lopsided.
  • Package bombs may have an irregular shape, soft spots or bulges.
  • Mail bombs may have protruding wires, aluminum foil, or oil stains, and may emit a peculiar odor.
While the overwhelming volume of mail does not permit the Postal Service to screen every piece, Postal Inspectors are able to respond quickly if a suspect article is discovered. Each Inspection Service field division has trained and equipped bomb specialists available to provide professional assistance. If you become suspicious of a mailing and are unable to verify the contents, observe the following safety precautions:

Poster 84, Suspicious Mail, tells employees what to do if they find a suspicious package:
  • Don't open the article.
  • Isolate the suspect parcel and evacuate the immediate area.
  • Don't put it in water or a confined space, such as a desk drawer or cabinet.
  • If possible, open windows in the immediate area to assist in venting potentially explosive gases.
  • Don't worry about possible embarrassment if the item turns out to be innocent. Instead, contact the Postal Inspection Service and your local police department.




Timeline



October 22, 2018 Cesar Altieri Sayoc Mail Pipe Bombs Oer one dozen packages containing pipe bombs were mailed via the U.S. Postal Service system to several prominent critics of U.S. President Donald Trump, including various Democratic Party politicians (Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, Eric Holder, Barack Obama,Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Maxine Waters), actor Robert De Niro, billionaire investors George Soros and Tom Steyer, former CIA Director John O. Brennan, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper[2][5] (though the packages sent to Harris and Steyer are still being investigated).[6] No one was injured in the attempted attacks. The attacks prompted an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.[2] None of the devices exploded outside of a controlled setting.[7] Packages were found placed in the mailbox at Soros' home in Beford, New York, and United States Secret Service intercepted bombs addressed to Obama and Clinton. in DC and New York,  CNN received one addressed to Brennan at its New York City studios in Time Warner Center, Device addressed to U.S. Attorney General Holder was delivered to the Florida office of U.S. Representative Wasserman Schultz U.S. Representative Waters got packages in Washington, D.C. and  Los Angeles. One was found by New York City Police Department at an office used by De Niro.[13] The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) removed two packages found at postal facilities in Delaware, addressed to former Vice President Biden.[14]  suspect, Cesar Sayoc Jr., also referred to by the media as the "MAGA bomber,"[15] was arrested in Plantation, Florida, and his white Dodge van with windows decorated with anti-democrat political posters from his twitter and facebook feed seized on October 26 in connection with mailing the explosive devices.[16] The FBI is treating the investigation as domestic terrorism.[17] If convicted, Sayoc could face up to 48 years in prison.[18]




Wed October 3, 2018  William Clyde Allen III Ricin Letters Mail Attack The New York Times reported that the F.B.I. arrested Navy veteran William Clyde Allen III at home in Logan, Utah after two envelopes addressed to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and to the chief of the United States Navy, Adm. John Richardson set off alarms in a mail screening facility outside the Pentagon on Monday Oct 1. They were suspected of containing poison ricin but actually contained castor beans, the raw material from which ricin is made. (1) He confessed that he purchased castor beans and sent them in  letters (2)

March 26, 2018 Thanh Cong Phan Suspicious Packages Sent To Military Bases Case Everett, WA man Thanh Cong Phan (Vietnamese name) is arrested and charged with sending suspicious packages to FBI, Washington, D.C.-area military bases. Each box contained a letter “with ramblings about neuropsychology, mind control” and terrorism. They were sent to government mail-processing facilities at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, where the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is headquartered; Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, DC; the CIA in Langley, Virginia; and Naval Surface Warfare Station in Dahlgren, Virginia. The package at Fort McNair was addressed to the National Defense University and contained black powder and a fuse.

Pattern? less than a week after the suspect in similar terrorist style serial bombings in Austin blew himself up.



February 12, 2018 Daniel Frisiello Massachusetts Mailing Threats Glitter Bombs 1st letter containing white powder, which turned out to be harmless corn starch, was opened by Trump Jr.’s wife, Vanessa Haydon Trump, on February 12, who was taken to hospital as precaution. Daniel Frisiello, 24, of Beverly, Massachusetts, is accused of  sending a threatening letter containing white powder to Donald Trump Jr.’s New York City apartment, along with mailing threats to four other people around the country, federal prosecutors say.(1)  He lived with his parents and worked at  Works for catholic charities child care center. Frisiello allegedly sent envelopes to at least five high-profile individuals across the country, including Stanford University professor Dauber, that bore Boston postmarks containing suspicious white powder and a note indicating or implying that the powder was dangerous, according to the FBI. (2)


Mail Bombs Delivered To Victims In NorCal Likely Sent By Same Person  CBS Los Angeles
A package delivered to the home of an off-duty police officer outside San Francisco exploded soon after a postal worker hand ... 

Police Officer's Wife Injured By Mail Bomb In ... - CBS San Francisco
https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/.../mail-bombs-delivered-to-victims-in-alameda-east-...
Nov 27, 2017 - Inspector Jeff Fitch with the Postal Service says the mail bomb is ... The package wasdelivered by the USPS to the police officer's home ... He was off duty at the time. ... When the bombexploded she suffered minor burns and ear trauma from the blast. The package was 11 inches long, too big for a mailbox.



USPS investigating after explosive device mailed to Alameda home ...
https://abc7news.com/usps-investigating-after-explosive-device...home/2699895/
Nov 26, 2017 - San Francisco, CAEDIT ... "On Friday, a parcel was delivered to a home in Alameda and it did detonate," said U.S. Postal Inspector ... to an Alameda home, where neighbors say a police officer lives. ... Neighbors did not report hearing an explosion but saw numerous police cars and an ambulanceoutside ...




February 10, 2014 Near Lebanon, Tennesee retired lawyer John Setzer died after an unknown package sent in the mail blew up and seriously injured his wife. He had worked on bankruptcy cases and had served as as pastor in small "country churches". The couple had a son who was killed by a dog at age 3. cnn Police would not reveal a motive, but it is possible that a former client of his attacked him like patients of doctors later murdered them. It is also an attack on clergy. Postal Inspectors have investigated an average of 16 mail bombs over the past few years.. 


2013, Shannon Guess Richardson, a Texas actress, sent ricin-laced letters to then-President Barack Obama and then-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg sentenced to 18 years in prison

same year, James Everett Dutschke mailed similar letters to Obama and other U.S. officials. He was later sentenced to 25 years in prison\

 Year 2007 



  • In January and February 2007, a bomber calling himself "The Bishop" sent several unassembled bombs to financial firms in the United States, and was arrested in April 2007.[citation needed]
  • In August 2007, a Lebanese immigrant, Adel Arnaout, was charged in connection with a letter bomb ring in the Toronto-Guelph area of Ontario, Canada; he was allegedly responsible for injuring 1 person. He was also allegedly responsible for the precautionary closing of a portion of the Don Valley Parkwayin Toronto on August 31, 2007.[citation needed]Adel Mohamed Arnaout (born 1970) is an alleged criminal landed Lebanese immigrant of Albanian descent [1] living in Toronto, Ontario, who is accused of sending three letter bombs out to residents of the Greater Toronto area in August 2007.[2]
    The first recipient of the letter bomb was Abdelmagid Radi on August 11, who sustained minor injuries on opening the letter. The second bomb was sent to real estate lawyer Terrence Reiber on August 19, who called police after noticing a petroleum-type odour coming form the letter. Police destroyed the letter bomb. Reiber had represented Arnaout in a previous criminal matter.[3] The third bomb was received by Guelph, Ontario resident John Becker on August 22. The device failed to explode. Becker confirmed Arnaout had been a tenant at two of his Guelph properties 3 years earlier before being evicted.[4]
    Arnaout had a previous conviction for criminal harassment in April, 2003, for which he received a conditional discharge. The charge stemmed the harassing ofmanagers of a Toronto modelling agency with which he had signed, hoping for a career as a male model. When Arnaout failed to get any work as a model, he allegedly began calling the agency repeatedly and threatening them, claiming to be a member of the Russian mafia. [3]
    Police were already investigating Arnaout since June 2007 after harassment complaints by Toronto resident Steven Scott.[4] Arnaout was wanted on an arrest warrant which had been was issued on June 26 charging him with criminal harassment of Scott, a former employer.[5]
    On August 30, 2007, Arnaout was taken into custody in connection to the letter bombs. At the time of his arrest, a rental car driven by him was found with 3 similar explosives inside. The Toronto Police bomb disposal unit did not defuse the explosives but instead transported them to the Leslie Street Spit where they were destroyed in a controlled explosion. The transport of the explosives by police closed the Don Valley Parkway and parts of the Gardiner Expressway for several hours. After his arrest, police also search his rental apartment in an East York home, nicknamed the Bombay Bunker.
    Police indicated the bombings were not due to racial or terrorist motives.
    Arnaout now faces three counts of attempted murder, three counts of attempt to cause an explosion, one count of illegal possession of explosives, and one count of criminal harassment.
Year 2001
most prominent mail attacks occurred in 2001, days after the 9/11 terror attacks. Several letters containing anthrax bacterial spores were mailed to offices of news organizations and U.S. lawmakers. The attacks killed five people and injured 17 others.  Bruce Edwards Ivins, a former government scientist, committed suicide in 2008 while the FBI was investigating his involvement in the case. Following his death, the FBI announced that Ivins was the only suspect

Year 1996

 [Islamic terrorism Iran-Kurd] Kamran Hedayati (Persian: کامران هدایتی‎ kâmrân hedâyati; 1 April 1949 in Iranian Kurdistan – 6 July 1996 in Stockholm, Sweden) was an Iranian Kurdishdissident who was assassinated in Sweden in the 1990s. In January 1992, Hedayati was seriously wounded after opening a letter bomb in his apartment inBagarmossen, Stockholm, Sweden. He lost his hands and sight in the attack and died from his wounds four years later. The murder remains officially unsolved. However, the Iranian government is widely believed to have ordered the assassination, as it had many similarities with other assassinations and assassination attempts on eastern Kurdish dissidents around the world at this time.[1] Four years earlier, in 1990, a Kurdish woman named Effat Ghazi was killed in a similar attack through letter bombing in her apartment in Västerås.

 [Islamic terrorism Kurd-Turkish]  Bahriye Üçok (1919 – October 6, 1990) was a female Turkish academic of theology, left-wing politician, writer,columnist, and women's rights activist whose assassination in 1990 remains unresolved.She also wrote her opinions in her column in the newspaper Cumhuriyet. After a TV forum, at which she declared that covered dressing in Islam (Hijab) is not obligatory, Bahriye Üçok received increasingly threats from the militant organization "Islamic Movement" (Turkish: İslami Hareket). Not a long time later, on October 6, 1990, she was killed by a parcel bomb looking like a book package as she was trying to open it up in front of her house door. The assassination remained unsolved. She was laid laid to rest at the Karşıyaka Cemetery in Ankara.[1] The "parcel-girl" Gülay Calap, who accepts the packet for delivery, had disappeared for a long period after the assassination. On January 16, 1994 she was arrested in İzmir as the İzmir responsible of "Türkiye Devrimci Halk Partisi" (Revolutionist Peoples Party of Turkey) which is a sub organization of Kurdistan Worker's Party PKK. The court sentenced her to prison for 22 years and 6 months. Parcel-girl stayed in Prison for 12 years and joined the DTP in 2007. In November 2007, Calap became the vice president of the DTP. (http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/7755554.asp?gid=180&sz=3005)

 Note: The PKK initially aimed to establish a fully independent Kurdistan covering land in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran.[29]:129  IranianAbout 60% of the 5 million Iranian Kurds are Shia. Shia Kurds inhabit Kermanshah Province, except for the rural northern part of the province and Ilam Province; 
Yekgirt group known as the Islamic organizations in Iraqi Kurdistan is the largest. Officially established in 1994, is a call to reform Islam and. Roots in the 1950s in northern Iraq, the first time the Muslim Brotherhood is going up.
Yekgirtu of the leaders in the 1992 elections Kurdistan 'Islamic Movement participated in the election as a group, the KDP and the Puk took the bronze medal. Party today, the Secretary-General Sheikh Salah al-Din Muhammad Baha-al-Din is ruled by. Kiu does not have its own armed forces. Instead, mainly with funds from Saudi Islamic organizations doing charity work, to have a strong base in rural areas, mosques, clinics and schools are built. KII, publishes a weekly newspaper called Yekgirt.

December 16, 1989, ...  Judge Vance Murder — FBI
https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/judge-vance-murder
It was a bomb. When federal appeals Judge Robert Vance opened the small brown parcel in the kitchen of his suburban Alabama home on
'Why my dad?' Judge recalls father's legacy as bomber's execution ...
https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/.../circuit_judge_bob_vance_talks.htm...
Apr 18, 2018 - When Judge Robert Vance Sr. received a package at his Mountain Brook home ... As he opened it, a pipe bomb with gunpowder and nails for ...
Alabama Executes Man for 1989 Mail-Bomb Murder of U.S. Appeals ...
https://www.justice.gov/.../alabama-executes-man-1989-mail-bomb-murder-us-appeal...
Apr 20, 2018 - A federal jury in 1991 also convicted Moody on 71 charges related to the pipe-bombmurders of Judge Vance and Georgia civil rights lawyer ..
Robert Smith Vance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Smith_Vance‎
On December 16, 1989, Vance was killed at his home in Mountain Brook, Alabama when he opened a package containing a mail bomb. Vance was killed ...

Ted Kaczynski - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski‎
Jump to Initial bombings - The first mail bomb was sent in late May 1978 to materials engineering professor Buckley Crist at Northwestern University.
Year 1977 

[political terrorism - doctor's strike ] Karen Grech (1962[1] – 1977) was the daughter of Professor Edwin Grech[2] the head of the department ofObstetrics and Gynecology at St. Luke's Hospital, Malta. She was killed in 1977 by a letterbomb addressed to her father at the age of 15.[3] In the presence of her brother Kevin, who at that time had ten years, Karin opened the package which she thought to be a present since it was covered in wrapping paper. The bomb exploded, and she died half an hour later at St. Luke's Hospital, due to several burns on various parts of her body. At the Funeral Mass, Archbishop Michael Gonzi called the murder of Karin Grech "the first terrorist act in the country. The doctors at Saint Luke's Hospital had an issue with the Labour Government and there was a strike at the Hospital. Despite this Grech still went to work, and although there is no forensic evidence linking the bomb to the strike with doctors, it was linked to the strike and persons related to those events. On the same day that the Grech family received the bomb, another bomb was sent to the doctor and Labour MP of that time Paul Chetcuti Caruana, but it did not detonate.

Year 1969

Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane (June 20, 1920 - February 3, 1969) served as President of the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO) from 1962, the year that FRELIMO was founded in Tanzania, until his assassination in 1969.  In 1969 a bomb was planted in a book sent to him at the FRELIMO Headquarters in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It exploded, killing him. Both the Portuguese intelligence or the Portuguese secret police PIDE/DGS and elements of FRELIMO, have been accused by different historians of this assassination. Former PIDE Agent Oscar Cardoso claims that PIDE Agente Casimiro Monteiro planted the bomb that killed Eduardo Mondlane.

Attati Mpakati (died 24 March 1983 in Harare, Zimbabwe) was a Malawian dissident and leader of the Socialist League of Malawi (LESOMA) from 1975 until his death. He was killed by a letter bomb while in exile in Zimbabwe.[1] It is widely suspected that the parcel was sent by agents of President Hastings Banda of Malawi. Mpakati had survived a similar attack in 1979, which President Banda admitted ordering.[2] After this first attack which destroyed both of his hands, together with his wife and children Mkapati first flew to London for medical treatment and then tried, without success, to fly to East Berlin to meet there with the exiled LESOMA representative for Eastern Europe Mahoma M. Mwaungulu.[3]

Year 1982

Ruth First (4 May 1925 – 17 August 1982) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and scholar born inJohannesburg, South Africa. She was killed by a parcel bomb addressed specifically to her in Mozambique, where she worked in exile from South Africa.

  1. 1919 United States anarchist bombings - Wikipedia, the free ...

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1919_United_States_anarchist_bombin...‎

    Wikipedia
    Jump to April mail bomb attacks - The mail bombs were wrapped in brown paper with similar address and advertising labels. Inside, wrapped in bright  ...

Examples[edit]


Parcel bomb sent to Madame Tussaudsin 1889
  • One of the world's first mailbombs is mentioned in the 18th century diary of Danish official and historian Bolle Willum Luxdorph. His diary mainly consists of concise references to news from Denmark and abroad. In the entry for January 19, 1764 he writes the following: Colonel Poulsen residing at Børglum Abbey was sent by mail a box. When he opens it, therein is to be found gunpowder and a firelock which sets fire unto it, so he became very injured. The entry for February 15 same year says: Colonel Poulsen receives a letter in German, [saying] that soon the dose will be increased. It is referring to the dose of gunpowder in the box. The perpetrator was never found.[3] In a later reference Luxdorph has found a mention of a similar bomb being used, also in 1764, but in Savona in Italy.[4]
  • Edward White, formerly an artist at Madame Tussauds, was alleged to have sent a parcel bomb to John Theodore Tussaud in June 1889 after being dismissed.[5]
  • A Swedish man named Martin Ekenberg used a mailbomb August 20, 1904, targeting CEO Karl Fredrik Lundin in Stockholm. It was made of a box loaded with bullets and explosives.[6]
  • In 1915, Vice President of the United States Thomas R. Marshall was the target of an assassination attempt by letter bomb.[citation needed]
  • In 1947, the Zionist Stern Gang sent several letter bombs to President Harry Truman in the White House. They were intercepted by White House mail room workers, who were on alert because the Stern Gang had posted similar bombs to various British officials in the previous year.[7]
  • August 30, 1958: A parcel bomb sent by Ngo Dinh Nhu, younger brother and chief adviser of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, failed to kill King Sihanouk of Cambodia.[citation needed]
  • In 1961 and 1980, the Israeli intelligence services Mossad sent a letter bomb to Nazi war criminal Alois Brunner, to which he lost an eye and several fingers.Two Damascus postal workers were killed.[8][9]
  • In the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, several terrorist organizations in Argentina such as Montoneros andERP included letter bombs into their weaponry.[citation needed]
  • On 28 December 1977, in Malta Karen Grech, age 15, was killed when she opened a letterbomb addressed to her father Edwin Grech. On the same day, another bomb was sent to the doctor and Labour MP Paul Chetcuti Caruana, but it did not detonate.
  • Theodore Kaczynski, the "Unabomber", killed three and injured 23 in a series of mailbombings in the United States from the late 1970s to the early 1990s.[citation needed]
  • Ruth First, a South African communist anti-apartheid activist was killed by a parcel bomb mailed by the South African government to her home inMozambique, on August 17, 1982.[citation needed]
  • In August 1985, a woman in Rotorua, New Zealand, Michele Sticovich, was instantly killed and a close friend of hers seriously injured after she opened a parcel addressed to her containing a number of sticks of gelignite. Mrs Sticovich's estranged husband, David Sticovich, was arrested and ultimately pleaded guilty to her murder.[10]
  • On October 19, 1986, Dele Giwa, a Nigerian journalist and editor of the Newswatch magazine was killed with a mail bomb, claimed to be sent by Nigeria's former dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. The general has never admitted complicity, remaining mute on the issue.[citation needed]
  • On December 16, 1989, Robert Smith Vance, a U. S. federal judge, was killed instantly upon opening a letter bomb in the kitchen of his home inBirmingham, Alabama, with his wife, Helen, seriously injured. Walter Leroy Moody was later convicted of killing both Vance and Georgia attorney Robbie Robertson by use of letter bombs delivered through the mail.
  • Franz Fuchs, Austrian mailbomber, killed four and injured 15 with mailbombs and improvised explosive devices in the mid-1990s.[citation needed]
  • Singer Björk was sent a letter bomb charged with explosives and hydrochloric acid by fan Ricardo López in 1996. The bomb did not reach Björk, having been randomly intercepted by London Police.[citation needed]
  • In February 2007, a series of mailbombings in the United Kingdom injured nine people, though none of them were critically hurt.[citation needed]
  • In April 2011 Neil Lennon and 2 high profile fans of Celtic F.C. were sent parcel bombs.[citation needed]
  • In February 2014, retired lawyer John Setzer was killed by a parcel bomb sent to his home in rural Tennessee. [11]

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