Isle woman is A 24-year-old Kalihi woman faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for allegedly sending threatening letters with white powder to three police stations in an attempt to get her boyfriend's mother in trouble.
charged in anthrax
letter hoax
She allegedly tried to get her
boyfriend's mother in troubleBy Rosemarie Bernardo
rbernardo@starbulletin.comThe charge of mailing threatening communications against Sharon Cardenas, who was arrested Wednesday, is the first prosecution of an anthrax hoax in Hawaii since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court yesterday, Cardenas sent threatening letters to Detective James Anderson of the Honolulu Police Department and the Pearl City and Kalihi substations on Nov. 30.
The letters supposedly contained the signature of Caridad Berzamina, her boyfriend's mother.
If convicted, Cardenas faces a fine of up to $250,000 along with the 20-year maximum penalty. A preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 25 at 3:15 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Kevin Chang.
U.S. Attorney Edward Kubo said such threats, especially following the Sept. 11 attacks, are not taken lightly by city, state and federal officials.
"We do not consider such threats a joke. ... We will hunt you down. We will find you. You will be arrested. We will aggressively prosecute you in federal court," Kubo said.
The letter sent on Nov. 30 appeared to have a photocopy of a Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort logo and address on the letter, according to an affidavit by U.S. postal inspector Byron Dare. The letter included the signature of Berzamina, along with her Social Security number and birth date, Dare said.
Berzamina, who worked as a housekeeper at the Marriott, has since lost her job because of the threatening letters signed in her name, according to Kathryn Derwey of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Cardenas obtained Berzamina's signature from a birthday card and checks, according to the affidavit. Dare said she cut and pasted the signature on the letter and then photocopied the letter.
She also obtained Berzamina's Social Security number and bank account number from checks Berzamina had given her as presents, the affidavit stated.
Derwey said that in 2000, Cardenas also sent threatening letters that stated they contained anthrax to several people. Those letters also were sent in the name of Berzamina, Derwey said.
Police had been investigating those letters but had filed no charges.
According to court documents, the Nov. 30 letters demanded that police destroy Berzamina's records and "that all charges against her be dropped or else somebody would be told to bomb the Kalihi, Pearl City and main Beretania police station and all would die." The letter also stated, "In this letter I will enclose poison anthrax. This is not a joke!"
The Kalihi and Pearl City substations were evacuated when the letters were opened.
The white powdery substance found in the three envelopes tested negative for anthrax at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service laboratory. The substance was actually baby powder.
Cardenas' motive behind the threatening letters was to get Berzamina in trouble, Dare's affidavit said.
She stated she mailed the letters in Berzamina's name because "she was irritated at Berzamina and was sympathetic towards her boyfriend, Oliver Quiton," Berzamina's son, who had problems with his mother, Dare said. Cardenas and Quiton have a 1-year-old daughter.
Cardenas, who was studying to be a medical assistant, said she got the idea for the anthrax threat when she watched a television documentary several years ago about anthrax, according to the affidavit.