Update: Freeper busted in fake anthrax threats

A California man was arrested this weekend, accused of mailing threatening letters laced with white powder to Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, David Letterman, Keith Olbermann and other high-profile figures, the FBI announced Sunday.

FBI agents took Chad Conrad Castagana, 39, of Woodland Hills, California, into custody Saturday on charges of conveying false information and sending threats via the U.S. mail, the bureau said in a statement.

Castagana, of Los Angeles, was being held in a federal detention center pending an initial court appearance Monday, when prosecutors were expected to file charges.

According to a federal search warrant, among those who received threatening letters were Jon Stewart of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show;” talk show host David Letterman; Keith Olbermann of MSNBC; Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, who is set to become Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, both Democrats.

In some cases, the threatening letters included expressions such as “Death to Demagogues” and references to Alan Berg, a Jewish talk radio host murdered by white supremacists in Denver in 1984, the document said.

Tests determined that the white powder sent in the letters was nonhazardous, the statement said.

So, who is this guy, this Chad Conrad Castagana? Well, thanks to "The Google", many across the blogosphere have done a good job of profiling this whackjob domestic terrorist. It appears Castagana's a 39 year-old unemployed sci-fi geek who lives at home and has a deep affection for Katherine Harris and disease flicks.

And, in a turn of events that will likely surprise nobody, he's a freeper! No, I'm not making this up, and no, you should not be surprised. See, "Triple C" is an avid poster at many websites, message boards, and blogs. One of his favorite sites is Free Republic, where he posts under the alias "Marc Costanzo". Many of his posts there are similar to ones found elsewhere, though his ruminations in Freeperland may have done him in.

Most striking is this Costanzo comment from September, weeks before the anti-Bush MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann was sent a threatening fake anthrax letter in New York: "This partisan loudmouth Olbermann is a demagogue! Someone should find out where he lives and mail him a Ted Kazcinski letter."

After Olbermann received the fake anthrax, Costanzo posted the following:

"Not to make light of the situation, but drama queen Olbermann put on quite a production even after he'd been told the powder was harmless and checked out by doctors and told he was fine. He demanded that he be rushed to the hospital for more tests. I wouldn't be even remotely surprised if he mailed it to himself. I've never seen someone more desperate for attention and approval. I heard from a liberal blog that Olbermann was a prima donna at the hospital, giving the medical staff and the cops a hard time. Keith is a whiny little b@tch! Accepting that, I do not believe he sent it to himself. But that is just guess work.

A few weeks later, after fake anthrax was sent to the New York offices of Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, Costanzo wrote, "Hold it here now, what are the facts? The links provide few details. This info is very sketchy!"

And when the Washington Post recently received a piece of mail with suspicious white powder, Costanzo commented, "I heard recently that The Washington Post got interrupted beifly the other day becaue of a 'suspicious letter'. I read about this at Wonkette.com They said that this letter only contained harmless powder of Boric Acid."

So yes, Free Republic, that last bastion of liberty protecting us from terraists is in fact harboring them. And of course, in classic freeper form, the site went down briefly this morning as head freeper Jim Robinson, aka JimRob (or as I like to call him, RimJob) and his lackeys were likely busy scrubbing the evidence from the site (though they must have missed one). Not to worry, as "The Google" does have a nifty caching option. Hopefully, the fancy RV that RimJob bought with freeper donations won't break down as he flees the country. Karma would dictate that whatever country he winds up in forces him to speak their language.

Or, in freepspeak, "we are screwn".

UPDATE: Looks like this whole white powder scare has hit the New York studios of Air America Radio. Yesterday, they received three suspicious packages. An employee made the find at the stations' headquarters at 641 Sixth Ave.

The three packages - one of which was addressed to on-air personality Al Franken, and another allegedly to Randi Rhodes - contained a powder-like substance, which proved to be harmless.

Yes indeed, folks. They hate us for our freedom.