Replies

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://losangeles.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel07/la011907usa.htm

ONTARIO MAN AGREES TO PLEAD GUILTY FOR REPORTING NON-EXISTENT TERRORIST ATTACK IN LOS ANGELES

An Ontario man has agreed to plead guilty to providing false information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation by reporting that he had overheard conversations in which a man threatened to “knock [Los Angeles] off the earth” in a terrorist attack.

In a plea agreement filed today, Dennis Leon Kolupski, 54, admitted that he called the FBI three weeks before the 2005 anniversary of the September 11 attacks and stated that he overheard a disturbing cell phone conversation. According to Kolupski’s report, he overheard a co-worker reference the bombings in Madrid and London and state:

“9/11 is nothing like what will happen on 9/12,”
“they were going to plant things around the city and that nobody will be able to tell where things are happening,”
“that we would be so distracted about a lot of little stuff, that we would miss the big stuff, that this will knock L.A. off the earth,” and
“people are already positioning themsleves, which 9/11 is like a candle on a birthday cake.”
In a subsequent interview, Kolupski admitted that he did not hear the threats to Los Angeles, that the conversation he overheard was in a language other than English, and that he intended his report to bring scrutiny to the co-worker.

Kolupski is scheduled to make his first court appearance on February 26. Assuming that he enters the guilty plea, Kolupski faces a maximum possible penalty of five years in federal prison.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

RECAP:

(Note: Video included)

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/01/18/mercury.spill/

"L.A. terror task force probes mercury spill"
POSTED: 1527 GMT (2327 HKT), January 22, 2007

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UPDATE

(Note: Fox News reported the name of the suspect, but I don't have a url for a press releas yet. So here's an update for now.)

UPDATE:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/01/23/state/n154415S52.DTL&type=politics

"Man questioned in LA subway mercury spill"
Tuesday, January 23, 2007

(01-23) 15:44 PST Los Angeles (AP) --

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The FBI on Tuesday arrested a man they believe spilled toxic mercury on a subway platform.

The man was being questioned but it did not appear he was involved in any terrorist activity, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

He was arrested and held for a parole violation unrelated to last month's spill, Eimiller said.

She declined to reveal other details.

"We're not going to have anything more until we sort this thing out," she said."

Authorities say they don't believe it was terrorism. So, why would he do such a thing and who was they guy talking to him in the security video?

Arrest made in subway mercury spill
2:34 PM PST, January 23, 2007

The FBI and Los Angeles County sheriff's officials today detained a man they believe spilled 6 ounces of mercury on a subway platform last month, officials said.

The man was identified as Armando Bustamante Miranda, 27. He was being held on an unrelated parole violation.

Authorities and federal counterterrorism officials have been searching for the man since Dec. 22, wanting to know why he dumped the mercury at the Pershing Square platform and then called authorities to tell him. Several passengers touched the substance, though no one was reported hurt.

Excerpted

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mercury24jan24,0,5877558.story?coll=la-home-headlines