To me it looks like there is lower case "i" in Times and the "S" in St. looks incomplete.
I think if they can track it down, that the writers writing will be consistent when they take hand writing samples.
Posted on 10/13/2001 9:03:35 PM PDT by OKCSubmariner
EXCERPTED:
A broadening national bioterrorism investigation turned toward St. Petersburg late Friday after NBC officials disclosed that a New York employee has contracted anthrax.
A woman who opens the mail for news anchor Tom Brokaw was diagnosed with a skin form of anthrax several days after she opened a letter that contained white powder and was postmarked from St. Petersburg.
The New York Times on Friday received a letter with a white powder and the St. Petersburg Times received one earlier in the week. All three letters were postmarked in St. Petersburg.
Federal law enforcement officials said late Friday that all three letters postmarked St. Petersburg tested negatively for anthrax.
[However, the test for the letter sent from St. Petersburg to the Brokaw aide must have been unsuccessful (too small a sample size?) because the aide in fact did contract Anthrax. This point was made by Ted Kopel on ABC Nightline last night. This calls into question the negative test results for the other two letters since they were also sent from St. Petersburg and may not have had inadequate sample size].
• An assistant to NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw contracted the skin-based form of anthrax after opening a "threatening" letter to her boss.
Officials quickly said there was no known link to either the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks or the more serious inhaled form of anthrax that killed a supermarket tabloid editor in Florida last week. The 38-year-old NBC employee was being treated with antibiotics and is expected to recover. The letter was postmarked in St. Petersburg on Sept. 20 and opened Sept. 25, authorities said.
St. Petersburg Times columnist Howard Troxler opened his letter at his desk Tuesday. As he did so, a white powdery substance, resembling sugar or salt, spilled out.
Troxler stopped opening the letter. Authorities were called to the newspaper's offices in downtown St. Petersburg. Police put the envelope in an airtight container and drove it to a state health lab in Tampa for analysis. Firefighters covered Troxler's desk with a plastic sheet and yellow emergency-scene tape reading "caution."
Health officials found no signs of anthrax or bacteria in the powder. The envelope and a letter inside also tested negative.
The letter had no return address and was postmarked St. Petersburg. It bears a code 337, then a space, then 1.
Anything that is mailed in Seminole, Largo, Bay Pines, Gulfport, Pinellas Park or any St. Petersburg neighborhood goes through the main post office on First Avenue N and is stamped with a 337. [Actual envelop shown in article and the zip code is visible as 33701 and the postmark can be made out as early (“0?”) October 2001 for St. Petersburg]
The cryptic letter misspelled Troxler's name and had little punctuation. It said:
"Howard Toxler ... 1st case of disease now blow away this dust so you see how the real thing flys. OKLAHOMA-RYDER TRUCK! Skyway bridge-18 wheels." [Oklahoma-Ryder Truck capitalized for emphasis by FR poster, original version did not use capital letters]
Remember the recent concern about Islamic fundamentalist activists working out of University of South Florida?
Here are some FR threads about it:
What is Going On at the University of South Florida? (9/26 O'Reilly Interview with Prof. Al-Arian)
Univ. of So Florida puts Arab Prof. on leave (with pay) after O'Reilly interview
I disagree. Did you consider a person who is normally used to writing from right to left (as in Arabic). By the way, I am left-handed.
Not an American practice is it?
I think this person is used to addressing international mail with a hyphen between the city/county/province/state and the country.
When I was a kid (over 30 years ago), I remember my parents getting mail from family members who were in the military and posted overseas. The mail would have our regular address - USA
The other point I was careful to make was that it was significant that the three letters came from St. Petersburg. And I also stated it was significant even if no anthrax or ME terrorists were involved because then if it were a hoax, the hoax itself would be a terrorist act by someone, even a domestic group.
BTW, the St. Pete Times thought it was significant. ANd the story was carried tonight in OKC by KWTV9 NEws as being related to the Oklahoma bombing. THey took it seriously enough to report. If it turns out that nothing is really here, fine, I still would post the story because there is a possibility more could be too it as things unfold.
Is this just an amazing coincidence or did the mailer from St. Pete know somehow about the letter sent earlier from New Jersey to the same aide?
If the mailer in St. Pete did know about the NJ letter he may have also known the first letter contained anthrax since the first letter you say had anthrax.
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