Security Expert: CNN, Clinton, Obama Devices Not Detonating Should Give Investigators 'Bountiful Information'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Technology is on the side of law enforcement in the search for those responsible for Wednesday's delivery of explosive devices to the Time Warner building, the Clintons and former President Barack Obama, among others, a security expert told CBS2.
Manny Gomez, a former FBI Special Agent who is now the president of MG Security Services LLC in New York City, said several factors are working in the investigation's favor, including surveillance cameras, the potential for forensic evidence and a presumed database of people who may have made threats to those individuals that received the devices.
The Time Warner building at Columbus Circle in Manhattan, home of the New York offices of CNN, was evacuated Wednesday morning after an explosive device was found in the mailroom, authorities said.
Other devices were found near the family home of former President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton in Westchester County on Tuesday night, and near the Obama home in Washington, D.C., and at the offices of Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz in Sunrise, Florida, on Wednesday morning. Billionaire philanthropist George Soros received a device in his mailbox on Monday, authorities said.
"Clearly this is targeting, I dare say, anti-Trump people," Gomez told CBS2's Tony Aiello. "Soros, CNN, Obama, the Clintons, and so it's not surprising that there is a pattern. It wouldn't surprise me either if this was a single bomber."
Gomez said the more devices there are, the more leads that can be developed.
"We saw that recently, six-eight months ago," Gomez said. "We had another 'serial bomber' that planted multiple devices. He was caught quickly because of the multitude of devices. They were able to triangulate who the person was, where he was and they were able to neutralize him."
Gomez said investigators will immediately begin poring over video from the "thousands of cameras" at the Time Warner building.
"They are going to try to identify if anyone did bring it in. If it was mailed in, the postal investigators are going to look into where the device was mailed from and look at video there," Gomez said.
He said the fact that none of the devices detonated should give investigators "bountiful information as to who made it, where they made it and how they made it," including, potentially, a fingerprint or maybe a hair sample.
Gomez said narrowing down a list of potential suspects will be easier to do once investigators identify who might have had a bone to pick with CNN, the Clintons, Obama, Gov. Cuomo, Rep. Wasserman Schultz and Soros.
"Absolutely, that's one of the things that they are going to be looking at -- who made a threat, who is a person of interest that made these bomb threats and go out and investigate them, go out and interview them to see where they were, what they were doing and if they have anything to do with these devices," Gomez said.
"Believe me, it's going to be FBI, ATF, Secret Service, NYPD here locally, Westchester PD, obviously," Gomez added. "Everybody is going to be working on this case until it is solved, because right now there is somebody out there, or people out there, that mean to do others harm. An explosive device, obviously, could take out a large amount of people, certainly at the Time Warner Center, which is inhabited by thousands of people."