BOSTON – Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced today that Massachusetts state and local officials, led by the Attorney General’s Office, have reached a settlement with Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (Turner) and Interference, Inc. (Interference), by which the companies will pay $2 million in restitution and other compensation to the communities and agencies affected by last week’s hoax device scare in and around the city of Boston.
“Last week’s events caused a major disruption in the greater Boston area on many levels—crippling public transportation, causing serious traffic problems, negatively affecting local businesses, and perhaps most significantly, costing Boston and surrounding communities thousands of dollars,” Attorney General Coakley said. “It is our hope that these funds will cover not only the expenses incurred by the many agencies who participated in the response and investigation of the devices discovered in the Boston area last Wednesday, but they will also enable our communities to enhance homeland security, or to pursue other important community initiatives.”
The resolution payment includes approximately $1,000,000 to reimburse state and local agencies for all our-of-pocket expenses and additional expenses incurred as a result of the discoveries of the over 30 hoax devices found throughout the day on Wednesday. In addition, Turner will contribute an additional approximately $1,000,000 in “goodwill funds,” which will be divided proportionately among the involved agencies, to be used for programs that support homeland security, community education and awareness, emergency response preparedness, training and equipment, or other appropriate community security and safety education.
The funds will be divided as follows:
| ENTITY | OUT OF EXPENSES |
ADDITIONAL RESTITUTION |
HOMELAND SECURITY & COMMUNITY INITIATIVE FUNDS |
TOTAL |
| State Police | $200,000 | $145,563 | $345,563 | $691,126 |
| EOT/MHD | $13,157 | $9,576 | $22,733 | $45,466 |
| MBTA | $182,426 | $132,772 | $315,198 | $630,396 |
| Massport | $2,425 | $1,765 | $4,190 | $8,380 |
| City of Boston | $140,232 | $102,063 | $242,295 | $484,590 |
| City of Somerville | $20,000 | $14,556 | $34,556 | $69,113 |
| City of Cambridge | $7,175 | $5,222 | $12,397 | $24,794 |
| US Coast Guard | $13,351 | $9,717 | $23,068 | $46,136 |
|
|
$578,766 |
$421,234 |
$1,000,000 |
$2,000,000 |
By making these payments, Turner and Interference resolve any potential claims, civil or criminal, that might be asserted against Turner or Interference or any of their subsidiaries, employees, or contractors, except for Peter Berdovsky and Sean Stevens, by any of the state or local governmental entities that relate to the effects of and response to the marketing campaign on January 31, 2007.
In addition to payment of these funds, Turner Broadcasting and Interference, Inc. have agreed to issue a public statement accepting full responsibility for the disruptions caused last week, and apologizing not only to the communities and agencies involved, but also to the general public.
At this time, the charges against Peter Berdovsky and Sean Stevens remain and because they have separate counsel, are not part of this agreement. However, prosecutors have begun discussions with their defense counsel regarding a resolution of the criminal charges short of trial.
