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False leads taxing FBI
Agency advises public to use common sense amid anthrax scare
10/16/2001
WASHINGTON – The largest criminal investigation in U.S. history has stretched
the FBI thin, with thousands of agents racing to investigate last month's
terrorist plot and forestall new attacks. Adding to the workload is an undercurrent of panic manifesting itself in a
national wave of anthrax scares. Reports of suspicious mail, odd powdery substances and people behaving
strangely, and questions about a flurry of Internet hoaxes have been fielded by
a swath of federal, state, and local law enforcement and public health agencies
in the tense weeks since Sept. 11. In Dallas, a hazardous materials team from the Fire Department responded
Monday after a woman found a suspicious powder on her Neiman Marcus mailing. The
source? Talcum powder from the latex gloves worn by bulk-mail sorters. On Saturday, a United Airlines flight was held at the San Jose, Calif.,
airport for three hours after reports of a man dispersing powder in the
ventilation system. It turned out the substance was confetti spilled by a
passenger opening a greeting card. While President Bush and other leaders have urged Americans to be vigilant
and report any suspicious event, some officials dealing with the influx of calls
are urging people to use good judgment before reaching for the telephone. "We don't want people to overreact," said FBI official Doug Garrison in
Indianapolis, where a US Airways flight made an emergency landing Saturday after
a flight attendant found a substance – later determined to be talcum powder – in
a trash can. "It does tax us, there is no question about it," Mr. Garrison said. "It's
just one of those things: You have to spread a little thinner to get it all
done." Two former senior FBI officials said the bureau is probably shelving
run-of-the-mill cases while it focuses on the terrorist attacks and responds to
the wave of investigative leads, anthrax scares, and other calls phoned in by
the public. "Frankly, there's not many things much hotter than an anthrax scare," said
Danny Coulson, a retired FBI deputy assistant director who played a key role in
the Oklahoma City bombing investigation. "The agents have to address that, and
it's very manpower-intensive." While Mr. Coulson described the response effort as a burden on the bureau, he
said the FBI is well up to the task and has probably put off less essential
cases and responsibilities. "If it isn't life-or-death, they are not going to
work it," he said. Rusty Capps, a former FBI supervisory special agent who headed the bureau's
anti-terrorism operations center at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, agreed.
"I would doubt that there would be very many resources – unless this got
really horrendous in size and scale – diverted from the September 11
investigation," he said. "What I would more likely expect is ... investigative
agents would be diverted off criminal cases and white-collar crime cases." At FBI headquarters, officials said agents quickly assess which cases deserve
more attention, particularly with the spate of anthrax reports that cropped up
in the last two weeks. "They have set up protocols to deal with these issues, to have a quick
turnaround where they can do a field test to see if it tests positive," said FBI
spokesman Bill Carter. "They do react to all of these cases." Asked whether the reports of possible anthrax exposure are straining the
FBI's resources, Mr. Carter said: "Is it taxing? ... Obviously it would be. But
again, it's something that has to be responded to." While acknowledging the need to respond to the anthrax scares and other
inquiries, some rank-and-file FBI agents are voicing exasperation at some of the
calls. One agent, who spoke on condition that he not be named, cited an incident in
which a woman called about powder that fell from a letter she had opened. The
authorities quickly determined that the powder was from detergent she had on her
fingers before opening the letter, the agent said. "It's funny in one sense," he said. However, he added, "Law enforcement
doesn't have the resources to be dealing with that." Such cases "definitely take us away from the PENTTBOM investigation," Lori
Bailey, an FBI spokeswoman in Dallas, said referring to the probe into the Sept.
11 terrorist attacks, "but we're trying to get a grip on it." The FBI is far from the only government agency working overtime to deal with
fears of anthrax attacks. Every new report of an anthrax-tainted letter or
anthrax exposure prompts a new wave of calls, said Dallas Fire Department Lt.
Ted Padgett, who heads a hazardous materials response unit. "To be honest, it's getting to the point of ridiculous," Lt. Padgett said.
The hazmat team, which typically fields 16 to 20 calls a month, is handling a
tenfold higher volume, he said. "You're just totally fatigued," Lt. Padgett said. So far, not a single anthrax exposure case has been detected in the state,
Texas Department of Health officials said. Dr. Dennis Perrotta, the Texas Department of Health's chief epidemiologist,
said his laboratory has been "completely overwhelmed" by testing required in the
suspicious powder cases. "That is the truth throughout the country," he said. "We certainly have
gotten our share of calls that folks failed to use common sense. "On the other hand, this is something new and different."