No Charges Against Author of Suspicious Letter to Chabad

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — The man who sent a suspicious letter to Chabad of Scottsdale with references to the Mumbai bombings will not be charged, Scottsdale police said Thursday.

Scottsdale investigators did not release the name of the Scottsdale resident, but said he is a former Chabad student.

“The circumstances of this incident do not constitute a crime, therefore, no charges will be filed,” said police spokesman Sgt. Mark Clark. “We believe the intent of the letter was not to threaten or intimidate.”

Instead, it appeared that the individual felt discontented with the classes he took at Chabad and was expressing his discontent in the letter.

There also is some indication that the sender has mental health problems, police said.

The Chabad learning center and three neighboring businesses on Scottsdale Road near Shea Boulevard were evacuated for five hours last week, but it was later found that the envelope did not contain any harmful materials.

The police dog alerted officers to a potentially dangerous item because the letter was carried by the mailman with parcels from a firearms/ammunition dealer in the same complex, Clark said.

A rabbi found the envelope in the business center’s mailbox and thought it looked strange.

There was writing on the front with Jewish and Christian “references,” the return address was the same as the sent address, and the postage stamp was not cancelled or postmarked.

Chabad of Scottsdale is a center of the international Chabad-Lubavitch organization. It houses a synagogue and a Jewish learning center.