CALIFORNIA Screeners intercept letter to governor

Similar rigged letters have been sent to about 18 governors.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the target of a letter rigged to ignite when opened, but the mail was intercepted before it could be delivered to his Capitol office, the California Highway Patrol said Tuesday.
The letter, similar to ones sent in the past week to about 18 other governors around the country, was discovered Monday by screeners inspecting thousands of pieces of mail headed for the Capitol.
"There was no explosion, no fire. The envelope was not opened," said CHP spokesman Steve Kohler.
Schwarzenegger's office had no comment Tuesday. The governor was in Sacramento on Monday.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, the state has stepped up its monitoring of mail addressed to the executive branch, including the governor's office, at a West Sacramento clearinghouse. "On Monday at that facility, an envelope was identified based upon information we have received from other states," Kohler said.
He said there were recognizable features that alerted the mail handlers to the possibility the letter was similar to the other cases. But Kohler declined to spell out the details.
Federal investigators picked up the device, which is now part of an expanding probe by the FBI, postal inspectors and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
From same prison
Todd Palmer, an FBI spokesman in Las Vegas, said all the envelopes are stamped "Ely State Prison," a facility in northern Nevada. Investigators are attempting to determine whether the letters originated at the prison and have narrowed their investigation to "a person of interest."
There have been no arrests and the letters that have been opened had no threatening communication, Palmer said. Palmer added he didn't know what, if anything, was said in the letter to Schwarzenegger.
At least three of the 18 letters opened last week caught fire, but no one has been injured. All the letters have gone to governors except one addressed to the Nevada Department of Corrections.
Letters sent to the chief executives of Virginia and West Virginia also were intercepted Monday. Other governors targeted so far include those in Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, New York, Texas, Nebraska, Vermont and Massachusetts.