"White-powder" letters hit more banks and N.Y. Times but could be harmless

An employee of The New York Times opened a letter Wednesday containing a white powder that officials later said was harmless.

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. Officials said those letters, postmarked Amarillo, Texas, also appeared to be harmless.

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 did not carry a Texas postmark and contained a different substance, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

More than 45 threatening letters have been received since Monday at financial institutions in at least 11 states, FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said. "Most of the letters contain a powder substance with a threatening communication," he said.

No harmful substances have yet been identified but more tests are being conducted at regional laboratories, he said.

U.S. authorities are always on the alert for such letters after incidents in 2001 in which envelopes laced with anthrax killed five people.

Asked if the bank letters were sent by a single mailer, Kolko said, "there's certainly a common thread."

A Dallas-area office of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation also received a suspicious letter, he said.

He said it was not yet clear if the New York Times incident was related. Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis said police were called this morning after an employee on the 13th floor opened an envelope addressed to the paper.

"A white granular substance was in the envelope. The New York City police were called and are now on site investigating," she said in a statement, adding that part of the lobby is closed and no one had been sent to hospital.

"People are able to get in and out of the building. The substance will be tested," she said.