Turner Broadcasting Agrees to Pay $2M for Aqua Teen Hunger Force Bomb Scare

The Turner Broadcasting System and Interference Inc have agreed to pay $2M for the “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” ad fiasco that paralyzed Boston, MA last week as a suspected bomb threat.

The settlement of course erases any legal action, civil or criminal claims, against the companies or individuals that would potentially be sued. Prosecutors were also in discussions with the attorneys of Peter Berdovsky and Sean Stevens, who hung the signs, to resolve the charges before a trial.

As part of the settlement, $1 million will be used to reimburse the agencies and $1 million will be used to fund homeland security and other programs. Turner Broadcasting, a division of Time Warner Inc., and Interference Inc. also will issue a public statement accepting full responsibility and apologizing for the incident.

“Last week’s events caused a major disruption in the greater Boston area on many levels — crippling public transportation, causing serious traffic problems, negatively affecting local businesses and perhaps most significantly, costing Boston and surrounding communities thousands of dollars,” Coakley said.

Turner Broadcasting released a statement taking responsibility and apologizing to Bostonians for the hardships caused by their “unconventional marketing tactic“

“We understand now that in today’s post-Sept. 11 environment, it was reasonable and appropriate for citizens and law enforcement officials to take any perceived threat posed by our light boards very seriously and to respond as they did.”