October 22, 2008
White Powder at NY Times Believed to Be Harmless
1010WINS
October 22, 2008
New York (AP) — The New York Police Department says it doesn’t believe a white powder sent to the offices of The New York Times is dangerous.
The newspaper told employees the powder was found Wednesday morning when an employee opened a letter on the 13th floor of company headquarters in midtown Manhattan. Police were called to the scene and were testing the substance but didn’t believe it was harmful.
The newspaper closed one lobby to the building, but it was reopened by about 6 p.m.
The discovery comes after more than 30 letters containing a suspicious powder were mailed to Chase bank branches and federal banking regulators’ offices in nine cities.
A law enforcement official said the letter sent to the Times didn’t appear to be related to those sent to the financial institutions. The Times letter was not postmarked from Texas and contained a different substance, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the case.
The Times letter tested negative for dangerous toxins, the official said.