SECAUCUS – The FBI stated that white powder received through the mail on Friday at several hotels near MetLife Stadium, where the Super Bowl is scheduled to be played on Sunday, is non-hazardous. When contacting this afternoon to determine if any hotels in Secaucus had received letters containing white powder, Mayor Michael Gonnelli said they had not. An hour and a half later he contacted the Hudson Reporter to state that he had learned that at least two hotels in Secaucus had received letters containing powder.
Emergency vehicles and hazmat specialists were dispatched to various locations to address the situation. At least six other letters were discovered in New Jersey at hotels in Carlstadt, Rutherford, and Lyndhurst. Another letter was delivered to the Manhattan office of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
According to media reports, the contents of one letter sent to the Homewood Suites in East Rutherford were tested and determined to be cornstarch. General Manager Thomas Martucci at Homewood Suites said the envelope sent to his motel contained a typed letter referencing al-Qaida and the Dallas FBI.
Fox Sports reported that the Renaissance Meadowlands Hotel was evacuated for the investigation and that investigators intercepted additional envelopes from a mail truck before it reached a Holiday Inn Express and Hampton Inn in Carlstadt.
–Art Schwartz