Similar Package Sent to Top Democrats Sent to Robert De Niro's NYC Restaurant: Sources
The NYPD said there is no need for an evacuation as the building was unoccupied at the time
By Jonathan Dienst, Marc Santia and Jennifer Millman
Published 3 hours ago | Updated 1 minute ago
A suspicious package and device similar to others sent to top Democrats this week was sent to a Greenwich Street building that houses offices Tribeca Films and Tribeca Grill that Robert De Niro owns, law enforcement and sources tell News 4.
The device was received sometime early Thursday, according to the sources familiar with the investigation. The NYPD said there is no need for an evacuation as the building was unoccupied at the time.
A law enforcement official briefed on the matter tells News 4 around 4 a.m. a worker saw the news and saw similarities in the package and called police. Another source said the package was addressed to De Niro and added that it had the same stamps and return address as the others -- Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
The bomb squad responded and removed the device, which was placed in an NYPD bomb vehicle to be taken to a safe area.
It comes after two more pipe bombs were discovered in packages and they were addressed to Rep. Maxine Waters of California, which had brought the total of explosive devices mailed to several high-profile critics of President Donald Trump and the New York City offices of CNN to seven. The one sent to De Niro's house, if linked, would be the eighth.
Packages addressed to Hillary Clinton, former President Obama, billionaire George Soros, ex-Attorney General Eric Holder, former CIA director John Brennan and Waters all appear to have the same characteristics, authorities and law enforcement officials with direct knowledge of the matter told NBC News.
Two devices were sent to Waters; one was intercepted at a downtown Los Angeles mail facility. A second, found earlier in the day, was intercepted at a congressional mail facility in Capitol Heights, Maryland.
In a statement, Waters addressing the suspicious package saying: “I have been informed by U.S. Capitol Police that my Washington, DC office was the target of a suspicious package that has been referred to the FBI. I am appreciative of the law enforcement entities who intercepted the package and are investigating this matter. I unequivocally condemn any and all acts of violence and terror.”
Early Thursday, a suspicious package and device similar to others sent to top Democrats was sent to Robert De Niro’s house on Greenwich Street in NYC, law enforcement sources say.
None of the devices detonated and no one was injured, and authorities are examining the crude explosives and staying on the lookout for additional packages.
Federal authorities are also looking into the possibility there is an eighth package, possibly addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden. No such package has been intercepted, but officials are looking into the possibility one was spotted moving through the postal service. Nothing has been found at Biden's residence.
According to sources, the explosive devices were made from PVC pipe and contained a timer (likely a digital alarm clock) to set off the detonator. Additionally, the powder contained in the bombs comes from pyrotechnics. X-rays show there was likely shrapnel inside the PVC pipe, law enforcement officials say.
Multiple senior bomb technicians briefed on the case said the devices had all the components necessary to set off a successful explosion.
Meanwhile, as the investigation heats up, investigators examining the explosive devices will be working to glean forensic clues to help identify who sent them, gathering fingerprints and DNA evidence while tracking the origin of the packages and the components used to make the bombs.
Larry Johnson, a former head of criminal investigations for the U.S. Secret Service who also served as a special agent in charge of the presidential protective detail, said it is highly likely that the person or people who built the bombs have been previously flagged by law enforcement.
Two of the seven devices -- one addressed to Clinton's Chappaqua home, one to Obama in Washington, D.C. -- were intercepted by the U.S. Secret Service. Both were discovered at off-site locations and neither the former secretary of state nor former president were ever at risk, officials said.
Another one of the packages -- addressed to ex-CIA chief John Brennan, now an MSNBC contributor -- appeared similar to the others and forced an evacuation of CNN at the Time Warner Center in Manhattan on Wednesday.
NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill said the device appeared to be a "live explosive." He also said there was an envelope with white powder in the original packaging; that powder is being tested. Mayor de Blasio said there are no additional credible threats.
It was at that briefing that Gov. Cuomo revealed his Manhattan office had received a similar package, which law enforcement later determined was not at all linked to the others.
What We Know About Those Pipe Bombs Right Now
A senior law enforcement official told News 4 the item was a threatening letter, not a device, that referenced the Proud Boys street brawl from earlier this month. There was no explosive, the official said. A second official confirmed no device was mailed to the governor's office.
A Cuomo spokesman later issued a statement saying the item appeared to contain computer files on the Proud Boys.
However, in a subsequent statement, Cuomo's office said security at critical New York infrastructure points will be doubled following the discovery of the potential explosive devices.
CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker slammed the White House and its continued attacks on the media when responding to the suspicious package delivered to CNN offices at Time Warner Center.
"There is a total and complete lack of understanding at the White House about the seriousness of their continued attacks on the media. The President, and especially the White House Press Secretary, should understand their words matter. Thus far, they have shown no comprehension of that," Zucker's statement reads.
Law enforcement officials say all of the seven linked parcels were in manila outer packaging and the devices had stamps on them. The devices appear to be working explosives, sources say, but final analysis is pending further testing. News 4 obtained an image of one of the devices; it appeared to be crude.
The signature is nearly the same on the packages and all listed the return address as one belonging to ex-Democratic National Committee chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. There is no suggestion Schultz had any involvement, law enforcement officials say. A device was also found at her Sunrise, Florida, office, which was the return address listed.
Investigators believe that was the package addressed to Holder; it appears it may have had the wrong address, which is why it was shipped back to the nominal sender (Schultz's return address).
An officer with the local police department in Florida where Schultz's office is located said the package had been removed by early afternoon and the bomb squad was "rendering it safe." He declined to say whether a live explosive had been in the package and warned, "There may be noise, there may not be noise."
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