‘Tartan terrorist’ accused of emailing bomb threats to US university

Published on 16/08/2012 11:16

ADAM Busby, a founding member of a Scottish terror group, has been indicted on charges he emailed bomb threats to the University of Pittsburgh campus earlier this year.

Busby 64, of Dublin, Ireland, was charged with 17 emailed threats sent to the school between April 6 and 21, and also with emailed bomb threats on federal courthouses in Pittsburgh, Erie and Johnstown in June.

He is also charged with threatening US Attorney David Hickton - who led the investigation that resulted in Busby’s indictment - because he singled out the prosecutor in a June 20 threat.

Busby is in custody in Ireland for sending email bomb threats targeting international flights.

Hickton said Busby has no known ties to Pittsburgh or the university, and the prosecutor wouldn’t comment when asked why Busby allegedly sent the threats or whether they’re related to his activities with the Scottish National Liberation Army, an outlawed militant group that seeks Scottish independence from the United Kingdom.

Hickton said he was unclear when Busby would return to the United States to face the bomb threat charges.

Busby faces 17 counts of wire fraud, 16 counts of sending false information or hoaxes and two counts of international extortion.

The extortion counts relate to the April 21 ultimatum and a similar April 10 email that the university disregarded as unreliable because it contained misspellings and factual errors, university Chancellor Mark Nordenberg said.

Nordenberg said the threats cost the school more than $300,000 in “hard” costs overtime for police and other staff, not to mention bomb squads and special equipment to detect such devices. That doesn’t include time lost by faculty and students, who were evacuated from dorms at all hours.