If true, toash marshmellows over crisping Republicans

Anthrax hoaxer may be Free Republic poster

Larisa Alexandrovna and Brian Beutler
Published: Monday November 13, 2006

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The man arrested on Saturday for sending more than a dozen envelopes containing "fake anthrax" to anti-war celebrities, journalists, and politicians may have ties to the conservative supersite Free Republic, RAW STORY has found.

Chad Castagana, a 39 year old Californian named as the FBI's prime suspect in the case, is due in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles today, where procecutors are expected to file criminal complaint against him for sending threatening letters through the U.S. mail. Castagana has an extensive online history, often writing about science fiction and conservative politics, and many bloggers are convinced that he is also a contributor at the conservative activist Free Republic website under the name Marc Costanzo.

Earlier today, users at the liberal websites Democratic Underground and Daily Kos brought to light the similarities between Castagana's Internet footprint and Costanzo's writings at Free Republic, and RAW STORY has found a series of eyebrow-raising connections between the two men.

In one Free Republic post, Costanzo contends that he hails from the town of Woodlands Hills; the same city where Castagana was arrested.

"Sorry I was so late in replying, but this room were I am working online from is a scorcher in the afternoon," Constanzo wrote in July of this year. "Tempertures were 106 degrees in the shade this Saturday, here in Woodland Hills."

Liberal bloggers noticed the possible connection after doing a Google search on writings by Castagana.

In a letter posted to the website of the magazine Science Fiction Weekly at the time of their August 26, 2002 issue, Castagana wrote, "The future is not the current events of our world thrown into outer space. The future is not with the Liberals, not with the Multiculturalists (both hate America), and it is certainly not to be found in Canada! The future is not written, the future is unformed."

Nearly four years later, the following passage was written by Marc Costanzo of Free Republic:

Let us create a future of infinite possibilities devoid of the agenda of the social engineers who work their corruption on us thru the one way world of television. A world where anything is possible, but not everything is possible. Anything can happen, but not all things can happen at once. That is what 'Time' is for, to keep all things from happening at the same moment. That shall be the only rule of our new fantasy world. That an event happens only once. What has been done, cannot be undone. There is no turning back the sands of time. You can review the past but you cannot change the past. That a vision of a possible future - to the present, must be taken in the context of the present. A Cosmos not governed by compassion or tolerance or equality, but common sense and merit. A Universe of strange and totally new lifeforms and not distorted reflections of human characters, just to make some social allegory ---- THAT is the insipid barren road of Political Correctness that Sci-fi entertainment has been a slave to for so many years. The future is not the current events of our world thrown into Outer Space. The future is not with the Liberals, not with the Multiculturalists (both hate America), and it is certainly not to be found in some cheapo TV production made in Canada! The future is not written, the future is unformed.

The similarities implicate Costanzo in—at the least—plagiarism of the anthrax-hoax suspect, but there are other points of contact between the two men.

Most striking is this Costanzo comment from September, weeks before the anti-Bush MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann was sent a threatening fake anthrax letter in New York: "This partisan loudmouth Olbermann is a demagogue! Someone should find out where he lives and mail him a Ted Kazcinski letter."

After Olbermann received the fake anthrax, Costanzo posted the following:"

Not to make light of the situation, but drama queen Olbermann put on quite a production even after he'd been told the powder was harmless and checked out by doctors and told he was fine. He demanded that he be rushed to the hospital for more tests. I wouldn't be even remotely surprised if he mailed it to himself. I've never seen someone more desperate for attention and approval. I heard from a liberal blog that Olbermann was a prima donna at the hospital, giving the medical staff and the cops a hard time. Keith is a whiny little b@tch! Accepting that, I do not believe he sent it to himself. But that is just guess work.

A few weeks later, after fake anthrax was sent to the New York offices of Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, Costanzo wrote, "Hold it here now, what are the facts? The links provide few details. This info is very sketchy!"

And when the Washington Post recently received a piece of mail with suspicious white powder, Costanzo commented, "I heard recently that The Washington Post got interrupted beifly the other day becaue of a 'suspicious letter'. I read about this at Wonkette.com They said that this letter only contained harmless powder of Boric Acid."

Costanzo's profile at Free Republic reads in part, "I have an Associates Degree in the Science of Electronics." Castagana's web history indicates an extensive interest in technological gadgets and an understanding of electronics.

A blogger at Daily Kos claims to have uncovered another alias as well.

RAW STORY will attempt to determine how extensive the link between the men actually is.

(Additional research by Ron Brynaert)