The Californian from Salinas, California • 2

WAN TOM THE NATION ESTABLISHED IN 1871 Proseratioes drop alRteir Sept. 113 Californian there were resources to spare. "One example would be bank Dramatic move comes as federal investigators focus on terrorism SERVING THE SAUNAS VALLEY AND MONTEREY COUNTY Published Monday-Saturday morning by Salinas Newspapers, Inc. 1 23 West Alisal Street P. O.

Box 8 1 091 Salinas, CA 9391 2 Phone (83 1 424-222 1 or 649-6626 A Gannett Newspaper Too busy for other crimes Because of the terrorist attacks, the total number of new criminal cases referred to U.S. attorneys has dropped dramatically. Here's a breakdown of the new referrals for prosecutions by the FBI and other federal agencies during the 19 days after Sept. 11. Selected categories of cases i 1999 2000 I 2001 urug cases rfarr aH Total cases 1999 M20oo mm 2001 6,000 5.000 4,000 -v 3,000 1 1 fS im In "7 Un i 1 I 735: 649 138 I White collar I crime referrals i the diversion was extensive," she said.

Investigators working regular, cases across the country were reassigned to pursue terrorism leads or provide protection for federal facilities or other potential targets. Some prosecutors4 said court cases had to be postponed because FBI agents who developed the cases weren't available to testify. The new Justice Department-data was obtained by Syracuse" University's Transactional' Records Access Clearinghouse-program and analyzed for the AP. The records are the latest figures for federal prosecutions available from the government and were obtained after a two-' year Freedom of Information Act legal battle by the university. Justice officials say they don't have figures for October or November" yet.

i- Our mission To be the leading information source for the Salinas Valley by providing accurate and complete news, advertising and public service information in a timely manner and in full defense of the First Amendment' robbery cases," said Robert J. Govar, senior litigation counsel in the U.S. attorney's office in eastern Arkansas. "Many of those will have to be referred to state and local authorities for prosecution." In the interim, some of the criminal matters that have fallen through the cracks may never get to court, one former federal prosecutor said. "A lot of cases once they sink to the bottom of the pile, they never come back to the top," said Robert Litt, a former Justice Department official during the Clinton administration.

"A lot of cases just go away." Outgoing U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White, whose New York district has been a major focus of the terrorism investigation, acknowledged the drain of resources. "Not to the exclusion of everything else, but to the extent that 109' 923 689 cases referred Criminal referrals New prosecutions filed Criminal cases referred by FBI 263 1,464 1,427 AP Records Access Clearinghouse; Syracuse University By David Pace The Associated Press WASHINGTON Federal agents recommended 76 percent fewer criminal cases for prosecution in the weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, a computer analysis of Justice Department records shows, in a sign of one cost of the war on terrorism. The sudden shift of thousands of federal agents to the terrorism investigation came at the expense of traditional crime-fighting against drugs, bank robberies, illegal immigration and white collar crime, the analysis conducted for The Associated Press showed.

For instance, the FBI recommended 263 criminal cases to U.S. attorneys for prosecution Finally, clues in anthrax death between Sept. 12 and Sept 30, compared with more than 1,400 referrals in the same period in each of the past two years. The declines were anticipated. "We cannot do everything we once did because lives now depend on us doing a few things very well," Attorney General John Ashcroft said this month.

The challenge of the next few months is to clear prosecutorial backlogs and shift non-terrorism investigations from the FBI. County supervisors consider new projects cni MADkTT err SAI IMAP5 Directors TimDowd, Publisher 754-4201 Scott Faust Managing Editor 754-4226 sfaustsalinas.gannettcom Dana Arvig, Advertising Director 754-4219 darvigsaiinas.gannett.com Oawn Woodruff, Circulation Director 754-4250 Robin Montoya, Market Development Director 754-4214 robin.montoyaPNI.com Joseph Hansen, Production Director 754-4241 jhansensalinas.gannett.com Conrad S.Velin, Controller 754-4202 cvelinsalinas.gannett.com Jenine A. Paul, Human Resources Director 754-4281 jpauMsalinas.gannett.com Paul Crawford, Internet Services Director 754-4212 News 8 a.m. to 1 a.m 754-4229 Opinionline phone 754-4287 FAX machine 754-4293 Sports 754-4225 Features 754-4266 If you have a news tip, wish to place a public announcement concerning local events or publish articles in The Californian, please contact the news department at the above numbers. We will not be responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photos mailed to The Californian.

If you have a concern, a question or a correction on a news story, call 754-4229 and ask for the city editor or news editor. Cook I Too- Monday In Local news Ctilifornian Spores found on letter in Connecticut suggest mail cross-contamination THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A trace amount of anthrax has been found on a letter sent to this home in Seymour, Conn. The house is about two miles from the home of Ottilie Lind-gren of neighboring Oxford. VOLATILE National Children's Memorial Day CORRECTION NOTICE In the Sears preprinted newspaper ads dated 1130, 122, 125, 12 7 and 1 21 2, and our mailer dared 1 25 that you may have received, Sears is offering 46619 Sony 35-inch color TV on sale for $699.99. Because of greater than expected demand for this particular TV, this item may not be available for immediate delivery.

However, orders will be accepted for this item through December 15, 2001 at the $699.99 sale price. Unfortunately, delivery of this television will not occur until after Christmas. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused Expulsion r- By Matthew Daly The Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. Traces of anthrax were found on a letter in Connecticut for the first time Friday, prompting the governor to suggest the 94-year-old woman who died mysteriously of the disease last week might have gotten it from her mail after alL Gov. John Rowland said no direct connection had been made between the letter found at a home in Seymour and the death Nov.

21 of Ottilie Lund-gren, who lived about a mile away in Oxford. Suspension Salinas rt2WarS75ra5l 944 S. Main SSSmSrl 424-3466 our customers. Monday in Living Ctilifornian 9-7 M-F'9-6Sat ll -4 Sun it IGOEUML WEST iw io "What the West Wears" Circulation Customer service Salinas (631)758-2000 Toll Free In California (800) 300-6397 Monday-Friday 5 a.m. to 5 p.mt Saturday 6 a.m.

to noon Holidays 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. Missed deliveries Monday-Friday 6 a.m. to 1 1 a.m. Saturday 8 a.m.

to noon Holidays 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. Suggested subscription rates Home delivery Monday-Saturday 510.25 per month Plus tax where applicable Newsstands Monday-Friday 50 cents Saturday Weekend $1 Plus tax where applicable Mail (Payable in advance) In Monterey County $15.02 per month Outside Monterey County 1 6.4 1 per month Plus tax where applicable Periodical postage paid at Salinas, CA (U.S.P.S.478120) Postmaster: Send address changes to The Californian, P.O. Box 81091, Salinas, CA 9391 2 Copyright 2001 Salinas Newspapers Inc. All rights reserved.

Christ is a Family Tradition flt EXTENDED HOURS tMl FOR THE fllP fo ipiT HOLIDAY SEASON Pendleton Wool Shirts Bm Mm SAVE! '89 7V 18w W5 '6390 $1605 96V $5590 1405 iviciio mens onap from Lightweight Fiannel Western Shirts Eff $1 099 to2XLT I Wrangler 13MWZ936DEN Rigid Blue Cowboy Cut Jeans 38-40 Lengths $21 .95 Big Mans $24.95 I I A Man's Store for Over 50 Years Salinas 1 Monterey 300 Main St. ljUIgfl 458 Alvarado St: 424-0746 647-1100 Advertising Classified Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Salinas 424-2222 From the peninsula Out of the area (800) 300-6397 FAX 754-4291 After hours messages 424-2222 Display Monday-Friday. 8 a.m.

to 5:30 p.m. Salinas 424-2221 From the peninsula 649-6626 Out of the area (800) 300-6397 FAX 754-4221 Ti lUAiMjIM.IliM'JMfu Mens Snap front Solid Color Chamois Western Shirts $0495 st0 2XLT LWH iiffwra i4CEmi iSr $'(995 I t7 rfo rfo r7 t-, Member of Audit Bureau of Circulations a mm mm a mwwmim wm -mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm i Ladies Rocky Mt. Blouses I m9519" to2999 "FOR ALL YOUR ANIMAL'S NEEDS But Rowland said her mail like the Seymour envelope may have been contaminated, perhaps indirectly, by anthrax-tainted letters sent to Sens. Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy in Washington. "I don't think that anyone suspects that Mrs.

Lundgren was a target," he said. "We all believe, again unscientifically because it's not proven, that she was a victim of cross-contamination." Authorities described the Seymour letter as a personal piece of mail that was processed at the Hamilton facility near Trenton, N.J., on Oct. 9. They did not disclose details about its postmark or any addresses, but John Farkas of Seymour said that he received the letter. "All our daughters are fine.

All the people who visited our house are fine," he told WICC-AM of Bridgeport. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with us." The letters sent to Daschle and Leahy were postmarked at the Hamilton facility on Oct. 9. Rowland said the Seymour letter moved through a sorting machine within seconds of one of the Washington letters. The Washington letters are blamed for contaminating a number of Washington buildings and for killing two postal workers.

Late Friday, authorities planned to pump chlorine dioxide gas into Daschle's office at the Hart Senate Office Building, where the letter sent to him was opened last month. Officials said they would make sure none of the deadly chemical escaped as they cleaned the office. The Seymour letter was among about 300 pieces of mail that moved through a sorting machine at about the same time as the tainted letters sent to Daschle and Leahy. Those letters were destined for addresses all over the United States, said Jon Steele, Northeast vice president for the Postal Service. He said he did not know whether the Postal Service would be tracking down and testing the other letters.

The Hamilton facility, which has been closed since Oct. 18, also handled anthrax-tainted letters sent to news organizations in New York. Federal health authorities said they still do not know how Lundgren was exposed. The discovery of the letter simply supports the theory that cross-contamination in the mail is possible, said Dr. Jeffrey Koplan, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Irene Cruz Diaz and Ricardo Leon, children of Mary Leon, have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Nativi-dad Medical Center. Their names were juxtaposed in a story on Page 1 in Friday's paper. KION-TV should have been among the major sponsors of the Holiday Harvest Food Drive listed in a letter to the editor on Nov. 28 from The Food Bank for Monterey County. jr 1 dvui ruiunaae Available While Supplies Last mm mm mm mm I Justin Ariat Mens Ladles '(Mmmmm-IM.

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