In September, the FBI checked out a report of an atomic bomb in Tacoma and found it had turned into a pumpkin. The Port of Tacoma called the FBI after the deputy director received a phone message from a port commission candidate, Bill Casper. He said he knew how to make an atomic bomb that could elude security devices.
An FBI spokeswoman in Seattle, Robbie Burroughs, says four agents went to Casper’s office 5 days after the phone call to question him. He says he spent an hour with the agents showing them a pumpkin and another squash similar in size to pieces of the Hiroshima bomb. Burroughs says the agents left satisfied it wasn’t dangerous.
Casper’s top issue as a candidate is preventing atomic material from being smuggled into the port, and he says he expected his research would trigger scrutiny.