Kalihi woman knew A Kalihi woman charged with sending threatening letters containing a white powder to three police stations knew that doing so was a federal offense.
anthrax hoax was
a federal offense
Sharon Cardenas allegedly sent
letters to get her boyfriend's
mother in troubleBy Debra Barayuga
dbarayuga@starbulletin.comSharon Cardenas, 24, indicated as such in documents that she filed Nov. 19 in state District Court to obtain a temporary restraining order against her boyfriend's mother, Caridad B. Berzamina.
Cardenas sought the restraining order, claiming she had received a birthday card, a threatening letter and a plastic bag containing a suspicious powder from Berzamina on Nov. 15.
Almost two weeks later, Cardenas allegedly sent letters with Berzamina's signature and containing white powder to a police detective at the Beretania main station and the Pearl City and Kalihi substations. The letters threatened to bomb the stations if Berzamina's records were not destroyed and charges against her dropped. The substance was later determined to be baby powder.
The U.S. Attorney's Office charged Cardenas on Thursday with mailing threatening communications in the first prosecution of an anthrax hoax here since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. She faces a maximum of 20 years' imprisonment. Cardenas' motive behind the threatening letters was to get Berzamina in trouble, officials said.
Michael Seabright, the assistant U.S. attorney handling Cardenas' case, could not comment on whether Cardenas' request for the restraining order was part of her scheme to discredit Berzamina.
Cardenas has admitted creating the letters sent to police by copying Berzamina's signature, according to court documents.
In her earlier declaration requesting a restraining order filed in state District Court, Cardenas accused Berzamina of threatening to kill her and kidnap her 1-year-old daughter, in the letter that accompanied the birthday card.
The birthday card was signed "Your Nana Caring" -- a name Cardenas said she used to address her boyfriend's mother. She noted she was sure that it was her boyfriend's mother who had sent the card because she recognized the signature and because the threat was written on letterhead from the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort Hotel, where Berzamina worked.
Berzamina apparently was rebuffed in numerous attempts to visit her granddaughter, the child of her son Oliver Quiton and Cardenas. Berzamina and her son apparently were not on good terms.
Aware of the recent media attention on anthrax, Cardenas said in her declaration that she put the contents of the card into a plastic bag and took it to the nearby Kalihi Police Station. She also filed a police report against Berzamina.
Even if the substance turned out not to be anthrax, it is still a threat and is a federal offense, Cardenas noted, citing public statements by the postmaster general, Mayor Jeremy Harris and the Honolulu chief of police.
"I will not take this form of threat very lightly," she said. "I am afraid for the safety and lives of me and my daughter. I don't want anything to happen to me and my family."
The state District Court granted Cardenas' request for a restraining order, which is in effect until Feb. 8. Berzamina was never served with the no-contact order because she could not be located at work or home. She no longer works for the hotel because of the letters sent in her name and has since moved from her last known address.
Assistant federal defender Pam Byrne, who represents Cardenas, could not be reached for comment.