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American Morning

Local Law Enforcement Played Crucial Role in Averting What Could Have Been Deadly Attack

Aired March 12, 2002 - 07:24   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's go back now to that cyanide story out of Chicago this morning. As homeland security chief Tom Ridge just acknowledged here on AMERICAN MORNING, local law enforcement played a crucial role this past weekend in averting what could have been a deadly attack in the Windy City. A man who eluded FBI capture for nearly a year was arrested by campus police at the University of Illinois and charged yesterday with hiding a deadly cyanide compound in Chicago's subway system.

Federal authorities have been looking for this guy, Joseph Konopka, in connection with charges last year of vandalizing power stations in Wisconsin.

CNN's Jeff Flock joins us from Chicago now with more -- this is a pretty scary story, Jeff.

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, theoretically scary. You know, any time anybody says cyanide in Chicago, Jack, it really catches people's attention because it is now 20 years ago this year that someone took cyanide, put it in Tylenol capsules, put those capsules back on store shelves and poisoned seven people. Nobody ever caught or charged in that one.

So cyanide really has a resonance in Chicago.

But nobody, no one is saying at this point is anything like that. As you point out, this fellow Konopka was arrested over the weekend. They found this cyanide, about, almost a pound of sodium cyanide, about a quarter of a pound of potassium cyanide in a CTA closet that he apparently rekeyed.

Now, of course, the first thing you think about is potentially some sort of a cyanide cloud or something. Some conflict this morning about what damage cyanide could do. Clearly, if you ingest it directly like they did in the Tylenol case, you're going to die. But if a cloud is released somehow in a subway tunnel, it's unclear just how much damage would be done, how many people would be killed. Clearly, no big tremendous disaster would probably ensue.

But as Director Ridge said this morning, the investigation is continuing -- Jack.

CAFFERTY: Do police have any idea yet, Jeff, what sort of plans this man might have had for this cyanide, what he was going to do with it?

FLOCK: At this point they don't, but they do know what they believe happened in Wisconsin. As you pointed out, there was that electric transmitter, electricity transmitter that he was charged with vandalizing. Apparently a television transmitter was also attempted, he attempted to vandalize that, and also apparently tried to light a natural gas pipeline, ignite that. But apparently the onrushing gas blew out the flame.

So if he is a self-styled domestic terrorist, as police say, he perhaps needs to go back to terrorist school. He didn't do a very good job of it. Police here in Chicago making very clear that they don't think anyone was ever in any kind of danger. But clearly questions need to be answered.

CAFFERTY: Indeed.

Jeff, thanks a lot.

Jeff Flock live this morning in Chicago.

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