Man from Ireland Indicted in Pitt Bomb Threats

A resident of Dublin, Ireland, Adam Stuart Busby, 64, is facing more than two dozen charges in connection with a rash of  at the University of Pittsburgh in the closing weeks of the spring semester.

A federal grand jury returned two indictments today against Busby. He is charged with emailing bomb threats targeting the university, three federal courthouses and a federal officer.

A separate four-count indictment charges Busby with, on June 20 and 21, maliciously conveying false information through the Internet claiming bombs had been placed at federal courthouses in Pittsburgh, Erie and Johnstown.

Busby was also charged with threatening U.S. Attorney David Hickton as he performed duties in his official capacity.

Busby is in custody, in Ireland, on unrelated charges.

According to the Irish Times newspaper, in July 2010, Mr. Busby, then 61 years old, was convicted of emailing two false bomb threats in 2006 to Heathrow Airport in London. Those threats, which cited specific international flights, claimed to be from the Scottish National Liberation Army, according to the Times.

Hickton would not speculate on a motive. "Busby does not have a connection to Pittsburgh, or the university community," he said. 

Federal authorities also charged Brett Hudson, 26, of Hillsboro, Ohio and Alexander Waterland, 24, of Loveland, Ohio with engaging in a conspiracy against Pitt using interstate threats claiming they were associates of the computer hacking group "Anonymous."

University President Mark Nordenberg conceded today the "bomb threats may have hampered the recruitment of students."

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