WASHINGTON (KRT) — Hoping for the public’s help in solving the anthrax attacks, federal officials offered a $1 million reward Thursday. The bioterrorism scare spread to a third television network, and New Jersey joined the list of exposure sites.
An assistant to CBS anchorman Dan Rather and a postal worker near Trenton, N.J., are being treated for anthrax infection.
The New Jersey mail carrier may have handled the anthrax-laced letters that were sent to NBC headquarters in New York and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle’s office in Washington, officials said. It is “almost certain” that a second postal worker at the mail center where the two letters were mailed, has developed the disease, Postal Inspector Tony Esposito said. Test results were pending.
The unnamed assistant to Rather visited her doctor on Oct. 1 to report facial swelling and began receiving antibiotics on Oct. 4, New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said.
“The facts sort of shout that someone did not wish us well,” Rather told reporters. CBS officials said the woman, who has skin anthrax, is expected to recover.
FBI Director Robert Mueller joined the head of the U.S. Postal Service in an appeal to the public for help Thursday, offering a reward of up to $1 million for the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators.
“We know there is someone out there who saw something or knows something about the letters,” said Postmaster General John E. Potter. “We hope that this reward will demonstrate how serious we are about finding those who did this and bringing them to justice.”
To date, there have been six confirmed cases of inhaled or skin anthrax in people who came in contact with the deadly bacteria either at newsrooms in Boca Raton, Fla., and Manhattan or the Trenton postal center. The first known victim, a 63-year-old tabloid photo editor, died earlier this month from inhaling anthrax. The others, including the infant son of an ABC News producer in New York, are responding to antibiotics, public health officials said.
House leaders ordered an unprecedented shutdown of the chamber through Monday. In light of the Senate decision to remain in session, the House leaders’ action has been the subject of much second-guessing and ridicule. The front page of one New York tabloid screamed “Wimps: The Leaders Who Ran Away from Anthrax” under a picture of House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Minority Leader Richard Gephardt. They defended their decision as prudent and safety-conscious.
“A thorough environmental sweep of the Capitol complex began last night, went on through the night, and continues today,” Deputy Surgeon General Ken Moritsugu said Thursday. “At this time, there is no evidence of contamination in the ventilation system.”