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May 17, 2008 6:53 am US/Central
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Sources: Threatening Letter To Daley Was 'Vicious'
Police Believe Arson Fire That Destroyed Neighbor's Home Was Intended For Daley's Summer Residence
GRAND BEACH, Mich. (CBS) ―
The letter to Mayor Daley was blunt, "very personal and vicious" -- and singled out the mayor's wife, Maggie, and their children.
The writer was furious about the slaying of a wild, roaming cougar in Roscoe Village on April 14, and threatened to torch the mayor's home.
On April 24, two days after the unsigned letter arrived, its writer -- or an associate -- is suspected of setting a fire on the grassy dunes near Daley's summer home in scenic Grand Beach, Mich., sources said.
"It's about the cougar," a source told the Chicago Sun-Times on Friday, calling the writer an apparent animal rights activist. "The connection was to the killing of the cougar and [Daley's] comments making light of the killing of the cougar."
Another source called the letter "very personal and vicious."
The fire -- which didn't reach the mayor's home but burned the homes of his neighbors -- was initially believed to be an accidental brush fire. But police reopened the investigation after learning about the threatening letter sent to Daley's City Hall office and ruled it arson, Berrien County (Mich.) Sheriff J. Paul Bailey said this week.
The house that did end up being destroyed in the fire was worth between $2 million and $3 million. It is owned by Tiffani Kim, who is known in Chicago for her River North wellness and beauty spa, the Tiffani Kim Institute, and her husband, Brad Griffith, vice chairman of the Chicago Board Options Exchange.
The modern structure was left charred, and its contents were unsalvageable. Kim said she lost rare archives of her fashion designs and other personal items, but was glad no one was hurt.
Initially, police and fire investigators believed they were dealing with an accidental brush fire, but they quickly determined it was arson.
Firefighters said the flames started near Mayor Daley's house, then traveled across the dune grass. Eventually, winds whipped the fire toward Kim and Griffith's house a few blocks away.
Police were giving few updates Friday and had no information about a possible suspect in thethreat case.
"I'm not going to go into any details of that investigation, but what I can tell you [is] we've taken every measure we can to make sure that the mayor and his family remain safe," Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis said.
Chicago Police and the Chicago office of the FBI are working together on the case through the agencies' joint terrorism task force, Weis said.
Law enforcement officials suspect the Grand Beach arson may also be linked to a "firebombing or threat" triggered by an unrelated animal killing elsewhere in the Chicago area, a source said.
The writer of the letter sent to Daley raged against the shooting of the Roscoe Village cougar, which happened 10 days before the fire was set. Chicago Police shot the animal seven times in an alley between Hamilton and Hoyne avenues just north of Roscoe Street after it lunged at an officer, police said.
After the cat was shot, Daley scoffed at suggestions that the animal should have been tranquilized.
After the shooting, an elementary school a block south of where the cougar was shot also received a threatening letter by someone angry about the kill.
Police patrols were beefed up around Audubon Elementary, 3500 N. Hoyne Ave., and the school principal sent a letter to parents notifying them of the threat.
It's not clear if that letter is related to the one that pledged to torch Daley's home.
The fire shattered the long windows of the home. Nearby, another expensive home sustained major smoke and fire damage.
Those burned homes overlook Lake Michigan -- offering stunning, unobstructed views. Neither was occupied at the time. No one was hurt.
The fire came close to the Daley home -- a white cedar ranch with green shutters -- but did not damage it. Brush and branches less than 15 feet from the back of the house were burned to cinders, and two nearby pine trees were singed.
Neighbor Bob Fischer scoffed at the notion that an arsonist could have struck at Grand Beach.
"If it was an arsonist, he did a poor job," Fischer said. "I think it was an accident. I bet someone tossed a cigarette out a car window."
The mayor's office has declined to comment.
The STNG Wire contributed to this report.
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