Businessman who marketed bogus anthrax protection to postal workers is now running for mayor

[Lobster Martini]

(LM: The Hamilton, New Jersey post office was closed in 2001 after it handled letters contaminated by anthrax. It remained closed for 3 ½ years.

According to this article, a local company called Eterna began marketing a hand cream called Skin Guard to postal workers, recommending that they use the cream before handling mail. There was only one problem. Its effectiveness as protection against anthrax was, shall we say, untested. In fact, its inventor now claims it was “ridiculous” for Skin Guard to have been marketed as protection against anthrax.

Naturally, the owner of the company that marketed an unproven product as protection against bioterrorism is now running for mayor and, yes, he’s a Republican.

Emphasis is mine.)

HAMILTON -- During the chaotic days after anthrax-laced letters made their way through the township post office in 2001, sickening several workers and pitching the region into fear, a local company began marketing a product that would protect mail sorters from the deadly bacteria.

Eterna, a company owned by Republican mayoral candidate John Bencivengo, advertised its Skin Guard product as the "first line of defense" against anthrax and urged postal workers to use the cream every day before sorting mail. A 6-ounce bottle cost $19.95 plus shipping and handling.

Now Skin Guard has become a hot potato in the upcoming mayoral race as local Democrats are charging Bencivengo with attempting to profit from one of the worst tragedies in the region's history. What's worse, they say, is the federal agencies that monitor drugs have no record of Skin Guard and there is no evidence that the product was effective at blocking cutaneous anthrax.

<snip>

Advertising on the Eterna Web site urged postal workers to use the product before sorting mail.

"The threat of bio-terrorism has caused significant concern especially for postal workers, mail room employees and others who routinely handle packages, envelopes and unrevealed contents. We are now urging them to use SKIN GUARD every day," the site said.

(Link: http://www.nj.com/timesoftrenton/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-3/118870601080680.xml&coll=5)

Follow up (9/6/07):

HAMILTON -- Republican mayoral candidate John Bencivengo faced scathing criticism Thursday from local postal union members who called his attempt to market a hand cream to protect against anthrax a shameless attempt to profit on tragedy.

<snip>

Bencivengo responded to the postal workers Thursday night, saying while he respects the opinions of the "heroes for what they went through in 2001," he accused (Mayor Glen) Gilmore of orchestrating the attack by the postal union members.

"This again is Glen Gilmore continuing his campaign of personal destruction against me," he said. "I did nothing wrong. I sold no products to postal workers at all."

http://blog.nj.com/timesupdates/2007/09/postal_workers_assail_candidat.html