Poison water threat claim
By Christine Caulfield
31jan03
A MAN threatened to poison Melbourne's water supply unless his dwindling
shares rose on the stock market, a court heard last night.
Prime Minister John Howard and Victorian premier Steve Bracks were woken in
the middle of the night by the National Crime Authority with the news the
city's water supply could be threatened.
But police arrested Cezary Robert Konarzewski, 42, at 10am yesterday,
charging him with blackmail, extortion, threatening to contaminate goods
and making a false report.
An out-of-sessions court heard last night Mr Konarzewski had accessed the
National Security Council website, and e-mailed his threat to contaminate
Melbourne's water with cyanide if his demands were not met.
Sen-Det Amanda Napier, from the Tactical Response Squad, told the court Mr
Konarzewski had demanded the stock market be manipulated in his favour, an
unspecified amount of money and advertisements every Saturday until the end
of March with coded messages to Melbourne Water.
Man charged over threat to Melbourne's water
January 31 2003
A Melbourne man has been charged over an alleged threat to poison
Melbourne's water supply with cyanide.
Cezary Robert Konarzewski, 42, of Tiber Close, Werribee, appeared at an
out-of-sessions court hearing last night where he was charged with
blackmail, extortion, making a false report to police and threats to
contaminate goods with intent to cause public alarm or economic loss.
Police told the hearing Mr Konarzewski e-mailed the threat to the National
Security hot-line from a Melbourne Internet cafe on January 22.
The e-mail said explosive charges connected to caches of mining-grade
cyanide planted in three of Melbourne's water reservoirs would be detonated
by remote control unless certain stockmarket share prices were manipulated,
the court was told.
Detective Senior Constable Amanda Napier of the tactical response squad
said money was mentioned in the alleged blackmail e-mail but not a precise
amount.
The note demanded coded messages be inserted in advertisements in the
Saturday Age newspaper every week until March to communicate with the
blackmailer.
Senior Constable Napier said police did not believe the accused had the
means to carry out his threats.
Mr Konarzewski was arrested at his home yesterday morning by the tactical
response squad.
The court was told the accused went to the Wyndham City Council library on
Tuesday, January 21, and after supplying identification, used a library
computer to open a Yahoo e-mail account and gained access to chat rooms and
stockmarket websites.
The following day he allegedly went to a city Internet cafe and created a
document, which he saved on to a floppy disk. That file, allegedly
containing the threat and cash demands, was signed Mr Water.
Police said that he gained access to the National Security hot-line website
at another Internet cafe and attached the file from the floppy disk.
He was then said to have phoned the terrorism hot-line, announced that he
was Mr Water and drawn the hot-line staff's attention to the extortion threat.
Asked by bail justice Rob Taylor last night if he understood what was
happening, Mr Konarzewski replied: "I'm not sure what is going on here now."
Mr Konarzewski was remanded in custody to appear in the Melbourne
Magistrates Court this morning.
http://theage.com.au/articles/2003/01/30/1043804469622.html
