Minn. man allegedly sent white powder to Dow Jones
A Minnesota man is facing federal charges for allegedly sending a note containing white powder to Dow Jones & Co.
An indictment unsealed in federal court Wednesday charges 69-year-old Richard Valentine Kozak with one count of false information and hoaxes.
It alleges he sent an obscene note and some quantity of white powder later determined to be flour to a Dow Jones mail facility in Massachusetts in May. He allegedly was responding to a magazine offer and asked to be taken off the mailing list.
Part of the mail facility had to be evacuated and a hazardous materials team was called in to check for anthrax and other biological threats.
Kozak remains free following an appearance in federal court in St. Paul Wednesday.
He did not have a lawyer there and did not immediately return a phone message left at his home seeking comment. The charge carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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