Two Suspects Arraigned After Turner Marketing Campaign Sparks Terrorism Scare
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/31/2007 10:29:00 AM
Two male suspects in their late twenties were arraigned in Boston this morning in relation to their role in the Turner Broadcasting Aqua Teen Hunger Squad promotion gone awry. The suspect were hired to work for Turner by a third party company based in New York. They are being charged with placing a hoax device and disorderly conduct.
One of the suspects is Peter Berdovsky, 27, who posted pictures of himself on his website that show him setting up the devices in different parts of the city. Turner said Wednesday it was behind mysterious packages that caused a terrorism scare in Boston. The campaign, which included battery operated light boards placed in public areas and under bridges, sparked such a scare that bridges were shut down and streets were closed yesterday for several hours.
CNN reported a statement from co-owned Turner taking responsibility and saying it was part of a marketing campaign for its Adult Swim cartoon block.
Turner in its statement said: "The “packages” in question are magnetic lights that pose no danger. They are part of an outdoor marketing campaign in 10 cities in support of Adult Swim’s animated television show Aqua Teen Hunger Force. They have been in place for two to three weeks in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. Parent company Turner Broadcasting is in contact with local and federal law enforcement on the exact locations of the billboards [Turner's description of the planted packages]. We regret that they were mistakenly thought to pose any danger.Calling it an active investigation, Edward Davis, Boston Police Commissioner, would only say there were no indications it was a terrorist act."
Turner Broadcasting Chairman and CEO Phil Kent added: "We apologize to the citizens of Boston that part of a marketing campaign was mistaken for a public danger.
"We appreciate the gravity of this situation and, like any responsible company would, are putting all necessary resources toward understanding the facts surrounding it as quickly as possible. "As soon as we realized that an element of the campaign was being mistaken for something potentially dangerous, appropriate law enforcement officials were notified and through Federal law enforcement channels, we identified the specific locations of the advertisements in all 10 cities in which they are posted. "We also directed the third-party marketing firm who posted the advertisements to take them down immediately. We appreciate the commitment demonstrated by the Boston police department and other law enforcement agencies, as well as the Massachusetts Governor’s Office, and deeply regret the hardships experienced as a result of this incident." Reporting on suspicious packages found around Boston on Wednesday, CNN had first reported that the devices appeared to be a real threat, then eventually said that they appeared to be a hoax, and one anchor even speculated it might even be a "publicity stunt for a cartoon show."
CNN's speculation came after the network reported that one of the packages contained a black board with pegs and a cartoon character that resembled one of the Mooninite Marauder characters from the Aqua Teen Hunger Force cartoon show. Initial reports had been that it resembled Nickelodeon's SpongeBob Squarepants.
Prank or not, it was being taken very seriously by police and Homeland Security. "Two to five years for each infraction," said the mayor of Boston. "We're not playing around."
"Hoaxes put an enormous burden on law enforcement and counterterrorism officials at all levels," said Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke, "and in a post-9/11 world there is absolutely no place for hoaxes." He would not comment on any possible repercussions. "I'm not going to get into an discussion at this time about consequences," he said.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino told CNN Wednesday he is willing to take "any and all action" against Turner to recover the cost of the city’s partial shut-down.
CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer led the 5 p.m. news cycle by calling it a "promotion gone wrong" and a "massive, massive, misunderstanding."
Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) said he would investigate. “This marketing stunt created chaos in Boston and wasted taxpayer money by tying up valuable resources," he said in a statement to B&C. "I intend to look into this issue and work with both federal and local law enforcement to determine how it happened and what can be done to prevent it from happening again.”
Rep. Ed Markey, also of Massachusetts and chairman of the House Telecommunications Subcommittee, was even more exercised."Scaring an entire region, tying up the T and major roadways, and forcing first responders to spend 12 hours chasing down trinkets instead of terrorists is marketing run amok," said Marky. "It would be hard to dream up a more appalling publicity stunt. Whoever thought this up needs to find another job."
-
Boston Police first responded to two fake "pipe bombs" yesterday (1/31) near a hospital. These were not associated with Turner''s guerilla marketing campaign. So, right off the bat they''re amped up waiting for more danger. Then they noticed these signs with wires and batteries under bridges. What are they supposed to think?? The City of Boston did a terrific job given the situation at hand.
Bodo - 2/1/2007 1:25:00 PM EST -
It is rather absurd that after two weeks someone
would suddenly feel that these "devices are dotted
with blue and purple lights and are shaped like
Aqua Teen characters..." would suddenly strike
someone (anyone) as a possible threat. And that
anyone approaching them would remain
convinced that they could be.
I think the city of Boston should celibrate the
marketing group responsible as heroes for
bringing the remarable skittishness of Bostonions
in general and the laxity of the HS security forces
stationed there into sharp relief.
Sisyphus - 2/1/2007 9:55:00 AM EST -
If your Defending the people who pulled this markting stunt. then I guess you already forgot about Sept 11, 2001. The police and the people of Boston are right to go after Marketing Morons. Who cares if they were up for 2 weeks they were in places that terrorist would strike, they also broke into Fenway park. So lets start with Breaking and entering for one charge. This marketing Company should be Finned and people fron the comapny should be tossed into jail. Also Turner Broadcast people have to pay there too, I see excutives going to jail and the company being finned and also sued by people and busineses. If you folks still think its funny then you should sit in a traffice jam waiting for these devices to be removed, also be not able to get on a bus, subway or train. All I see was corporate greed truner broadcasting signed the checks to this marketing so people should pay. Also I would like to see the FCC take away the broadcasing licence for Cartoon network for 10 days. Then lets see if they think thats funny.
Alan Rupa - 2/1/2007 9:48:00 AM EST -
This is not terrorism. Things were there for two weeks!They were designed to be seen! Do you think terrorists would want their bombs to be seen?! The two guys arrested and charged with terrorism stuff need to have those charges dropped. The only thing they did wrong was put these things up without asking (permit?). If you agree with me, please contact the mayor of Boston at the city government's web site. Just google "Boston Government".
Matt Headley - 2/1/2007 8:56:00 AM EST -
The overreaction by Boston authorities is threatening to make a laughing stock of the city. The blogosphere is already crackling with this story, particularly in comparing the sensible response of authorities in other cities, particularly NYC (which has seen actual terrorist attacks).
What does it indicate about Boston that, among the 10 cities in which these glowing signs were posted, only here was there this level of response.
Why is Boston so fearful? Why is Boston so, tragically, unhip?
Marlin May - 2/1/2007 8:50:00 AM EST
No related content found.
