Accountant Pleads Not Guilty to Making Bogus Anthrax Threat
A Calabasas accountant accused of calling in a bogus anthrax threat to avoid appearing in a Woodland Hills bankruptcy court pleaded not guilty Tuesday during his arraignment in Los Angeles federal court.
Harvey Craig Spelkin, 53, is scheduled to go on trial March 2. He remains free on $50,000 bond.
Spelkin allegedly stopped at a pay phone on his way to the federal bankruptcy court in Woodland Hills on Dec. 18 and telephoned the anthrax threat. He was facing perjury and embezzlement allegations in a bankruptcy action.
A court telephone operator said the anonymous caller told her, “You should check the air conditioning for possible anthrax.” Police and emergency crews were summoned and the courthouse evacuated and closed for the day. The call was a hoax.
Suspicions focused on Spelkin almost from the outset because he had failed to show up for other court proceedings. When confronted, he admitted making the call, according to the FBI.
The hoax was one of about 20 anthrax scares in the Los Angeles area in the past three months.
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