ANNAPOLIS – The Maryland Governor’s Office of Homeland Security has stepped up its screening of Gov. Robert Ehrlich’s mail, as over the past week 20 governors, including those in Virginia and West Virginia, have reported receiving envelopes booby-trapped to catch fire when opened.
According to Shareese DeLeaver, Ehrlich’s press secretary, his office has not received any such suspicious mail.
Still, because envelopes for Gov. Mark Warner of Virginia and Gov. Bob Wise of West Virginia were intercepted Monday, authorities in the nearby state of Maryland are staying cautious.
The 20 envelopes, which were rigged with matches to ignite when opened, bore postmarks from Ely State Prison, an all-male maximum-security prison in Ely, Nev. According to the Associated Press each envelope was addressed with the name of one of two inmates, and while authorities are not sure if either is involved, they are looking at a “person of interest.”
James Pettit, communications director for the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security, said the office is well aware of the threat and is taking precautions. The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security was established by executive order on June 23, 2003, and acts as a direct link to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Pettit said mail inspectors have been warned to be on alert for any envelopes or packages with a Nevada postmark, or with a prison postmark.
In addition to the new security measures, he said a number of protocols already existed to check the governor’s incoming mail. For instance, all mail is X-rayed in an off-site, undisclosed facility before it is brought near the State House.
Pettit also said there has been increased communication with the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center, which he says is responsible for “receiving, analyzing and disseminating intelligence information” to the governor’s office.
The governor’s Web site describes the Center as a “joint federal, state and local data collection center” that coordinates the actions of “law enforcement, the National Guard, emergency management, public health, (and) EMS and fire personnel.”
Pettit declined to elaborate further on security protocols, citing the need to keep such measures secret.
“There are a number of other things we do, but we don’t talk about them publicly,” Pettit said.
Since last week governors across the country have received the rigged mail. In addition to Warner and Wise, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson also reported envelopes Monday.
According to the AP, the governors of Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming have also been sent the envelopes.