NEW YORK _ A suspicious package was found Thursday by workers at the Tribeca Film Center, which share an address with a restaurant co-owned by actor Robert De Niro, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump.
Police said they responded after getting a 911 call just before 5 a.m. about a package addressed to De Niro at 375 Greenwich St. in Tribeca.
It was flagged by security personnel sorting through Tribeca Film Center mail, a police source said.
Police confirmed the device is similar to the one that was sent to CNN's Midtown headquarters on Wednesday and to the Clintons and the Obamas, among others.
"They saw this package," a law enforcement source said. "It looked a lot like what they saw in the media _ similar packaging and design."
The Bomb Squad was summoned to the scene and removed the item into its disposal truck to haul it to the Bronx for possible detonation.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo during an early morning appearance on National Public Radio said the package sent to DeNiro was "a similar looking package" than those sent to the Clintons, Obamas and CNN.
"We don't know yet if it is the same as the packages we have seen thus far," Cuomo said.
He said since some of the packages were hand delivered, law enforcement is checking video cameras and for fingerprints on the tape, as well as an inspection of the devices themselves.
A second level of investigation, he said, is what was the motivation.
"Was the motivation to kill, which one would assume when you're sending a bomb. Was there a different motivation that these were bombs that were not intended to actually blow up but just to scare, to intimidate because there is a heavy political overlay to this," he said.
Cuomo said his decision Wednesday to up police and National Guard presence in the subways and other areas in New York is just precautionary and not in response to a known threat.
"We have no information that would make us worry," he said. "This is the normal protocol in response. (In the past) we have had bombs found in subways. We have had trucks used to mow down people in a terrorist attacks and our response is always to increase police presence all across the board just as a matter of precaution. We found it doesn't alarm, but it actually comforts."
