Man sentenced in anthrax hoax

A Northern California man was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for sending hoax anthrax letters to President Barack Obama and Social Security Administration offices in three states.

Timothy Cloud, 63, pleaded guilty in May to charges of sending the letters, to threatening the president, and to failing to register as a sex offender. The letters all contained a white powder.

The letter to Obama called the president "just another lying" politician and contained a newspaper photo of the president with crosshairs drawn across his face.

Other threatening letters went to Social Security Administration offices in Baltimore; Kansas City, Mo.; and New York City. The New York office was evacuated and four employees quarantined as a result.

Envelopes sent to the Social Security offices contained cards reading, "you stole my money" and "die." Cloud, who is a transient from the Sacramento area, previously had been convicted of a sex offense in Texas but failed to register as a sex offender in California.