NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- For the third time in two days, Florida satellite offices of Congressman Tom Feeney have been targeted by mailings containing flour that staffers feared might have been the deadly anthrax -- the first Monday to to his Port Orange office and two others earlier today at his office in Orlando and in Titusville.
"Obviously, it was sent to his office(s) to be disruptive," said Ed Moffitt, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Orlando. "The individual may have a contrary point with whatever the representative's office is doing."
Moffitt said the acts are "categorized as domestic terrorism" and the investigation into the three incidents has been turned over to the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force for federal prosecution should investigators track down those responsible. It's a federal crime punishable by 20 years in prison.
The third package was delivered by mail to Feeney's Titusville office this afternoon in Brevard County. The substances turned out to be baking flour. It was the same M.O. at Feeney's Orlando office in Research Park in Orange County this morning shortly after 9:30 a.m. and the initial mailing Monday in Feeney's office at the Port Orange City Hall here in Volusia County. In all three instances, staffers discovered the white powdery substances in mailed envelopes and called 911, leading to evacuations and Hazmat and law enforcement response.
The Port Orange City Hall was evacuated at 4:20 p.m. Monday after fire and police responded to a 911 call from Feeney's office and several staffers were kept away from others until a field test determined the white substance was flour and not anthrax.
The Orange County Fire Department responded along with police from the University of Central Florida, which owns the building at 12424 Research Parkway in east Orange County, evacuating it after a 911 call from Feeney's office there at 9:36 a.m.
Also responding were investigators with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force and U.S. Postal inspectors. The response was similar later in the afternoon at Feeney's Titusville office in Brevard County as it was yesterday in Port Orange.
Feeney released an e-mail statement earlier this evening: "I want to thank local authorities, the Joint Terrorism Task Force and the US Postal Inspector for their quick response to this situation. Our office takes every threat seriously and my primary concern is for the safety of my staff, the other employees in the shared office space and citizens visiting these buildings."
Prior to Feeney's response, his spokeswoman, Pepper Pennington, released an e-mail statement explaining what happened with the initial Port Orange incident: "Tom Feeney's constituent service representative opened a letter that contained a white powdery substance. Tom Feeney's staff immediately reported the letter to the Port Orange Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police. We are cooperating with the proper authorities. Two district employees have recently been released from quarantine and are now home with their families in good spirits. Tom Feeney's thoughts and prayers are with his staffers and the other employees in the building impacted by this incident."
Moffitt of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement arm of the Postal Service, said the powdery substances in all three instances was found to be "benign" adding it would be very difficult for an actual deadly substance to get through mail inspectors.
"The postal service as a result of of the October 2001 anthrax scare has installed in all their major processing facilities equipment that will detect the presence of biological materials, in particular, anthrax," Moffitt said, adding, "so the public should have a very high safety confidence rate that when the mail is delivered out to their work location or their home that it is safe and free from any contaminants or harmful material as was proved here."