(The Chicago Sun-Times posted the following Associated Press article to its website on October 1.)
WASHINGTON — The government served notice Tuesday it is cracking down on illegal shipments of hazardous cargo that officials say could lead to accidents or be used by terrorists to mount attacks.
As part of new joint initiative by the departments of Justice and Transportation, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that Emery Worldwide Airlines Inc. — now part of CNF Inc. — pleaded guilty to 12 counts of violating hazardous material shipping laws and agreed to pay a $6 million fine.
More than 1.5 billion tons of hazardous cargo are shipped nationwide each year by air, rail, sea and land. Members of Congress have focused attention on the issue after learning of the odyssey of Charles McKinley, a clerk who had himself shipped in a crate on a cargo plane from Newark, N.J. to Dallas.