64-Year-Old Man from Ireland Indicted in Pitt Bomb Threats

A 64-year-old man with ties to a Scottish terrorist group 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 Wednesday against Adam Stuart Busby of Dublin, Ireland. 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 maliciously conveying false information through the Internet on June 20 and 21, 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, Busby 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.

An Associated Press article published in the Washington Post describes Busby as the founding member of the Scottish terror group.

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, OH, and Alexander Waterland, 24, of Loveland, OH, 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 Wednesday the "bomb threats may have hampered the recruitment of students."

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