http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/05/us/05cnd-hoax.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=printFebruary 5, 2007
Boston Reaches Settlement in Bomb Scare
By KATIE ZEZIMA
BOSTON, Feb. 5 Turner Broadcasting System and a Manhattan marketing agency have agreed to pay $2 million in restitution and other costs for a Cartoon Network advertising campaign that set off fears of terrorism, the state attorney general, Martha Coakley, said today.
The agency, Interference, Inc., carried out the campaign, which placed electronic advertisements for the show Aqua Teen Hunger Force in public places, including a Boston overpass where it was mistaken for a bomb last Wednesday.
The companies will pay $1 million to reimburse federal, state and local agencies for their response to the incident, which led officials to close a highway, bridges, subway stations and part of the Charles River for hours after dozens of the devices, which resemble Lite-Brite toys, were found in Boston, Cambridge and Somerville.
The companies will pay an additional $1 million in goodwill funds that will be divided among the agencies for emergency response training and equipment and public outreach.
It is our hope that these funds will cover not only the expenses incurred, Ms. Coakley said at a news conference, but they will also enable our communities to enhance homeland security or pursue other important community initiatives.
Ms. Coakley said the amount was more than the state would have obtained through litigation. The settlement shields the companies from civil or criminal liability by state and local agencies, Ms. Coakley said.
Criminal charges are pending against the two men who put up the advertisements, Peter Berdovsky, 27, and Sean Stevens, 28, of Boston. Ms. Coakley said her office is talking to their lawyers about possibly settling the charges against them.
In a joint statement, Turner Broadcasting and Interference, Inc., apologized for the campaign and said they are reviewing local marketing campaigns to ensure that they are not disruptive or perceived as threatening.
The companies said they understand that it was reasonable and appropriate for citizens and law enforcement officials to take any perceived threat posed by our light boards very seriously and to respond as they did.
Ms. Coakley would not reveal how much each company paid, but said Turner is bearing the bulk of the expense. Documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Time Warner, of which Turner is a subsidiary, say that Turner Broadcasting and HBO made $10.3 billion in revenue last year, of which $111 million were from advertising.
The advertising campaign was to promote an Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie that is coming out in March. Film industry experts say studios generally spend between $10 million and $30 million on advertising and promotion.
An official from Turner Broadcasting said last week that Boston was one of 10 cities where the marketing campaign was implemented.
The light boards, which featured a character from the cartoon show, had been in place for two to three weeks, and there had been no complaints from other cities, the official, Shirley Powell, a spokeswoman for Turner Broadcasting, said.
