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Publicity Prank Sets Off Alarm

Electronic devices planted at key transportation sites threw a scare into Boston yesterday. The illuminated panels turned out to be part of a publicity stunt for a late-night cable TV cartoon. Most of them depict a character 'giving the finger.'

Law enforcement officers had their own gesture. By the end of the last night, they'd made two arrests: 27-year-old Peter Berdovsky of Arlington and Sean Stevens, age 28, of Charlestown. Both are charged under a law that prohibits placing a hoax device that results in a panic.

State and city officials also want the cartoon producer and its ad agency to pay for the emergency response. WBUR's Business and Technology Reporter Curt Nickisch has the story.

This program aired on February 1, 2007. The audio for this program is not available.

Headshot of Curt Nickisch

Curt Nickisch Business & Technology Reporter
Curt Nickisch was formerly WBUR's business and technology reporter.

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