Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Homeland Security: Security Tight at Federal Courthouse in New York; Some of Nation's Most Prized Sites Vulnerable

Aired October 18, 2001 - 08:34   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Security is already tight at the federal courthouse in New York, just blocks away from what used to be the World Trade Center. Four men convicted in the U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania will be sentenced.

That story now from Deborah, that we introduced you to a little bit earlier. She continues to stand outside of the courthouse in lower Manhattan.

Deborah, before you do what you do, how obvious is the security this morning?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is enormously obvious, Paula. The U.S. marshals down here are packing an enormous amount of heat. We're seeing 12-gauge shotguns, nine millimeter Glocks, semiautomatics, also rifles. Behind me just here is a checkpoint. This is outside of the courthouse. So even before you get up the steps, your bags are being checked. Police will not say whether in fact they have received any threats. They said even if they did, they certainly wouldn't be telling us.

But vigilance here is the watchword. These four convict the terrorists are hours away from learning what their fates will be. All were found guilty of being part of Osama bin Laden's worldwide conspiracy to kill Americans. Now two of them found guilty for mass murder, that for the role of the U.S. embassy bombings in 1998, the U.S. embassies both in Kenya, and Tanzania, car bombs simultaneously exploding outside of those buildings.

Now two of those men -- those two actually -- face the death penalty, but over the summer, the jury was simply unable to reach a unanimous decision, which is why these men are going to ill get likely maximum life in prison, and these are going to be several consecutive sentences, because they are facing so many counts each.

Now we are expecting to go hear statements by two of the men, Wadih el Hage. He is a bin Laden businessman. The prosecutor says that it was his role that basically enabled bin Laden to help fund his terror campaign, even though Wadih el Hage has maintained all along that he was running legitimate businesses for the suspected terrorists. Also Mohamed Odeh -- he is a bin Laden soldier. He has admitted training at the Al Qaeda camps, but he said just because he is a soldier does not mean he is a terrorist. We are expecting to hear a short statement from him.

Now all of this will be happening in the courthouse behind me. Again security is very, very tight. No threats, but no chances being taken by anyone either -- Paula.

ZAHN: Deborah, thanks so much for that report.

And about two miles uptown, anthrax was found in the Manhattan office of New York Governor George Pataki. Jason Carroll has more on that, and the latest on the anthrax letter sent to NBC News.

Good morning again.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Paula.

Governor Pataki's office takes up two floors here in midtown Manhattan, and both of those floors are temporarily closed in the wake of this investigation. All of this basically started on Monday because of everything that has been going on. The governor's office ordered an environmental check of their offices, and one test indicated the probability of anthrax in one of their offices. That office located in a secure area used by state police security detail. Investigators are trying to find the source of the anthrax. The governor has already said that it's possible that investigators may have inadvertently brought it in from another infected site that they had visited.

Despite everything that has been going on, the governor says he is not going to let fear get the better of him. He said this when he appeared on last night on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GEORGE PATAKI, NEW YORK CITY: Since September 11th, all Americans are have a heightened sense of vulnerability, and we have to take common sense steps to our security and to make sure that we exercise a little more caution in our daily lives, but we can't allow these proponents of fear and terror to take away our confidence and prevent us from going about our ordinary day's work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Governor Pataki and his staff are taking the antibiotic Cipro. There taking this just as precaution. So far, no one in his office have tested positive for anthrax. Three people in his office have been tested. He says that his office should reopen again on Monday -- Paula.

Jason, thanks. We move now to Florida, where the first anthrax outbreak jolted the nation and where one person was killed, but the growing number of cases and scares kept hazardous materials teams on the run.

Mark Potter now joins us from Ft. Lauderdale with one of those overworked units. Good morning, Mark.

MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.

We are at a fire station in Ft. Lauderdale, and this issue of bioterrorism-related hoaxes and false calls has been plaguing fire, police and health departments around the country. It doesn't seem to be ending, and in some places, the calls are non-stop, and this is diverting resources, taxing the firefighters. A lot of the guys are exhausted, and as I say, there doesn't seem to be any end in sight.

And certainly and this is a firehouse that has been running all of the time. We are joined by the battalion chief Bill Findlan.

Chief, I know -- I was talking to your guys today. They said yesterday, they never got back to the firehouse with the hazmat truck when they left. Tell me, how bad is it? Do you see any end in sight here?

WILLIAM FINDLAN, FT. LAUDERDALE HAZMAT COORDINATOR: What you are looking at is normally -- in a year of 37,000 calls we will run 250; 256 calls last year, I believe. We are on pace with 10 to 15 hazardous material calls a day. We are looking in a one-month period, we could surpass last year's calls.

POTTER: What is the effect it is having on your operation and on the guys themselves?

FINDLAN: Del, on the people themselves, the hazardous material members are suiting up in protective suits. Obviously any suit that keeps the environment out also locks in body heat, and you're looking at the South Florida environment; that turns the interior suit into a hostile environment, and it wears people out.

POTTER: When you roll out of here, it is a labor-intensive endeavor, right? Show me the trucks you send out of here every time there is a hazardous material call, a hazmat call?

FINDLAN: A hazardous material call will get the tractor trailer you see, which is a hazardous material team unit. It consists of five personnel. You also get the district battalion chief. You see a vehicle here. The closest engine company will also respond. So minimum call of say a suspicious powder can get 11-12 people, upwards to 20 people, and then if you are looking at a situation where there is any associated medical complaints along with it, obviously you're going to get the appropriate number of rescue trucks for treating or transporting anyone.

POTTER: So each time you go out, you could have up to 30 people, and how does that impact your other operations, all the things would you normally have to do. Doesn't that divert your resources pretty considerably?

FINDLAN: Absolutely. Besides running these hazardous materials calls, we have to operate on a daily basis. As I say, we ran 37,000 fire and medical calls last year. We were looking at possibly 40,000 this year, so the resources that are normally running fire and medical calls, besides the hazardous material team, engine companies, rescue trucks, district chiefs, are now going on hazardous material calls.

POTTER: Well, thank you very much, I was talking to some of your fellows inside, and they said they were sort of surprised they had not got a call yet today and figured they were going to be gone the rest of the day when the first one comes in.

Chief, thank you very much.

FINDLAN: It's a quick way to jinx it when you say they have not had a call.

POTTER: Thank you very much.

State officials here in Florida are taking this very seriously. They've offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of anyone who perpetrates hoaxes, and there are prison terms involved, up to 15 years. So they are taking this seriously, but again, it's still going on, lots of calls, lots of false calls, and it's certainly affecting the fire department, and we just heard a call here, so we'll see what that is. Back to you.

ZAHN: Mark, we appreciate you taking us into the process, I have not seen anyone do that so far. Good reporting.

In Pennsylvania, Harrisburg International Airport reopened earlier this morning, what is being called a credible threat against nearby Three Mile Island prompted federal officials to put the nuclear powerplant on a high state of alert. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission restricted airspace in a 20-mile radius around the airport as a precaution. A spokeswoman for NRC would not discuss the nature of that threat.

Among the potential targets of terrorism are some of our national treasures, but CNN has found that some of the nation's most prized sites are vulnerable.

Jeanne Meserve has this report from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are emblems of America, honoring our heroes, our sacrifices. For that very reason, they are potential terrorist targets. And they are vulnerable. This 1999 report, commissioned by the National Park Service was never publicly released, but was obtained by CNN. It analyzed weak points in the protection of Washington's monuments and memorials, but two years later, none of its significant recommendations have been implemented.

CHARLES RAMSEY, D.C. POLICE CHIEF: They just have not occurred yet, and believe me, it creates a great level of frustration for my troops.

MESERVE: Instead of increasing the number of U.S. Park Police as the report recommended, their numbers are now lower.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well I don't put this the system in, unfortunately, in '72. The antiquated park police communications system hasn't been replaced or even upgraded, although the report says two years ago, "The potential for a communications failure in a crisis situation is extremely critical."

MESERVE: Indeed, park police have trouble using their outdated radios to communicate with one another, much less with other law enforcement agencies. Some of the other reports and recommendations, remove large trash receptacles where a bomb could be planted, improve traffic barriers, better secure some entrances at the memorials, and when parking is too close, move it away. The report also urged the installation of surveillance cameras, sensors and alarms, and the screening of personal bags, like backpacks.

PETER WARD, U.S. PARK POLICE: it appears to us to be common sense, and it appears to a lot of people to be common sense. I think the question is now, when are we going to do it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: The answer, when there is money. As of yet, none of the items recommended in the report has been a priority in the Interior Department budget. But some close to the situation believe that the events of September 11th may have changed that -- Paula.

ZAHN: Thanks, Jeanne.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com