http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/355272p-302744c.html
Terror tip for rich
E-mails warned bigs of city attack
By ALISON GENDAR
DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU CHIEF
Cop guards downtown Broad St. subway station Monday as New Yorkers’
nerves are frayed by terror warning.
The city's rich and well-connected were tipped off to last week's
subway terror threat days before average New Yorkers, the Daily News
has learned.
At least two E-mails revealing the purported plot were sent to a
select crowd of business and arts executives early last week by New
Yorkers who claimed to have close connections to Homeland Security
and other federal officials, authorities said.
The NYPD confirmed that it learned of the E-mails on Oct. 3 - three
days before Mayor Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and
the FBI went public with the threat.
"I have just received a most disturbing call from one of my oldest
friends from growing up in Washington," one E-mail began. "He called
with a very specific caution to not enter or use the New York City
subway system from Oct. 7 through 10th."
A second E-mail sounded a similar ominous tone: "As some of you know
my father works for Homeland Security, at a very high position and
receives security briefings on a daily basis.
"The only information that I can pass on is that everyone should at
all costs not ride the subway for the next two weeks in major areas
of NYC."
One of the E-mails was dated Oct. 3 with a 6:05 p.m. time stamp,
about 90 minutes before Bloomberg was fully briefed on the threat, a
police source said.
The early warning infuriated several police officials, who noted that
Homeland Security officials had challenged the credibility of the
threat after the city and FBI warned the public.
"We're briefing the mayor, ratcheting up security, talking about when
to go public - and Homeland Security is downplaying the whole thing
while their people are telling friends to stay out of the subways," a
police source said. "It's pretty bad."
NYPD investigators obtained copies of the E-mails on Oct. 4, as
Bloomberg and Kelly were finalizing a plan to respond to the threat,
and police officials gave the E-mails to the Homeland Security
Department, police said.
'Members of our corporate security network informed the Police
Department of the E-mails' existence days prior to any announcement
of the threat," NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said yesterday.
Homeland Security officials confirmed that they were told about the
early E-mail warnings.
"We have looked into them, but do not consider them to be of great
significance," Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said yesterday.
"At best, they were based on anecdotal accounts of very limited
information," he added, declining to reveal whether the feds were
investigating.
The News obtained copies of two E-mails, one with the foreboding
subject line: "Alarming call from Washington." Unsigned versions were
also posted on Snopes.com, a site that examines urban legends.
One of the E-mail senders, when reached by The News, declined comment.
The plot, calling for terrorists to detonate bombs hidden in
briefcases, suitcases or strollers, has been largely discredited
since the public warning.
Bloomberg has defended his response, arguing the city had no choice
but to act on the "specific threat." He has said he held off alerting
the public until Oct.6 to give authorities time to round up suspects
in Iraq
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