Letter Scare Briefly Closes New York Lawmaker's Office On Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON (AP) _ A lawmaker's Capitol Hill office was sealed off briefly Wednesday after it received an envelope marked with the name of a white powder commonly used in fertilizer and explosives.

Wednesday, August 1st 2007, 8:08 pm

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ A lawmaker's Capitol Hill office was sealed off briefly Wednesday after it received an envelope marked with the name of a white powder commonly used in fertilizer and explosives.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said the episode might have been a misunderstanding.

A man dropped off an envelope addressed to King's congressional office around 3 p.m. EDT. It bore the words ``ammonium nitrate,'' prompting a concerned staffer to don rubber gloves, put the envelope in a trash can and call the police.

Investigators isolated King and his staff in case they had been contaminated but allowed them to leave around 4:15 p.m.