FBI takes DNA sample in probe of Warren auditor candidate


By Ed Runyan

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

The FBI took a DNA sample Monday from Warren auditor candidate Anthony J. Natale to determine whether he sent a white powder to a former employer’s address in Boardman in 2014 that led to a Haz-Mat crew being deployed and an evacuation.

Natale, 36, of Genessee Avenue Northeast, provided the sample Monday morning, according to federal court documents.

An affidavit filed in U.S. District Court says investigators want to know if Natale’s DNA matches DNA collected in the Nov, 12, 2014, incident at the American Business Center, 7877 South Ave.

Natale worked as an account manager at ABC from November 2013 to October 2014, Natale said on his LinkedIn page. ABC provides copy-machine sales and service.

The affidavit says ABC received an envelope mailed through the U.S. Postal Service that was hand-addressed and contained health-insurance paperwork ABC had sent Natale.

It also contained a white powder that fell from the envelope and into an employee’s lap, desk and floor in front of the desk, the affidavit said. The letter was signed in Natale’s name, and the signature matched another Natale signature, the FBI said.

Natale did not return a phone call Tuesday seeking comment.

After testing by the Ohio Department of Health, it was determined that the powder contained no pathogens or toxins, the affidavit said.

ABC hired Natale as a sales representative in October 2013, but he never met his sales quota and was fired for lack of performance Oct. 6, 2014, the affidavit said.

Natale became “very irate” upon learning of his termination, yelling and slamming desk drawers and “stormed out of his supervisor’s office and sped out of the company’s parking lot,” the affidavit said.

Shortly afterward, his supervisor received a text message from Natale saying, “I hope you die from cancer of the eys [sic],” the document said. The supervisor replied, asking Natale to have no further contact with him, leading to two more messages from Natale. The supervisor contacted Boardman police about Natale’s behavior.

The company later sent Natale information in the mail about continuing his health insurance, as required by law, and asked Natale to sign the letter and return it to ABC. The health insurance paperwork was with the white powder, the affidavit said.

The affidavit indicates the FBI believes the sending of the white powder constitutes a “hoax use of a weapon of mass destruction,” a violation of federal law. Letters containing white powder have been associated with a deadly threat since September 2001, when five people died and 17 others were infected with anthrax, the affidavit notes.

It is likely to take six to eight weeks for the DNA results to come back, but it could be some additional time after that before a decision is made on whether to pursue charges against Natale, said Vicki Anderson, spokeswoman for the FBI in Cleveland.

Natale defeated one challenger in the May Democratic primary in his effort to replace David Griffing as Warren auditor. Natale has no challenger in the general election, and the deadline for write-in candidates was Monday. Write-in is the last chance to make the November ballot.