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Woman whose firm was linked to exploding pagers is being protected by Hungary’s secret service, her mother says
The woman whose company was linked to thousands of pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria this week is under the protection of the Hungarian secret services, her mother told The Associated Press on Friday.
Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono has not appeared publicly since the deadly simultaneous attack that targeted Iran-backed Hezbollah on Tuesday and that has been widely blamed on Israel. She is listed as the CEO of Budapest-based BAC Consulting, which the Taiwanese trademark holder of the pagers said was responsible for the manufacture of the devices.
Her mother, Beatrix Bársony-Arcidiacono, told the AP that her daughter had received unspecified threats and “is currently in a safe place protected by the Hungarian secret services.”
The “Hungarian secret services advised her not to talk to media,” she said by phone from Sicily.
Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono via Facebook/via REUTERS
Hungary’s national security authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the AP could not independently verify the claim.
Two days of attacks this week, first targeting pagers and then walkie-talkies, killed at least 37 people and wounded more than 3,000, including civilians. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied involvement.
Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono’s company came under scrutiny after Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese firm, said it had authorized BAC Consulting to use its name on the pagers that were used in the first attack, but that the Hungarian company was responsible for manufacturing and design.
On Wednesday, a Hungarian government spokesman said the pagers delivered to Hezbollah were never in Hungary, and that BAC Consulting merely acted as an intermediary.
Beatrix Bársony-Arcidiacono, who also uses the name Beatrice, echoed that.
“She is not involved in any way, she was just a broker. The items did not pass through Budapest. … They were not produced in Hungary,” she said.
BAC Consulting shares the ground floor of a modest building in Budapest with numerous other enterprises, but has no physical offices and uses the property in Hungary’s capital – like the other companies based there – only as an official address, according to a woman who emerged from the building earlier this week and refused to be named.
The company’s website said it specialized in “environment, development, and international affairs.” The corporate registry listed 118 official functions including sugar and oil production, retail jewelry sales and natural gas extraction.
The company brought in $725,000 in revenue in 2022 and $593,000 in 2023, according to the company registry. Last year, the company spent nearly $324,000, or around 55% of its revenue, on “equipment.”
Business records accessed by CBS News from Hungary’s Ministry of Justice show that BAC Consulting was registered as a company in May 2022.
Beatrix Bársony-Arcidiacono said her daughter was born in Sicily and studied at the University of Catania before pursuing a Ph.D. in London. She worked in Paris and Vienna before moving to Budapest in October 2016 to care for her elderly grandmother.
On social media, the younger Bársony-Arcidiacono describes herself as a strategic adviser and business developer who has worked for major international organizations as well as for venture capital firms. Her company’s website says she has a doctorate in physics.
The 49-year-old received the degree from University College London, where she was enrolled in the early to mid-2000s, according to her LinkedIn page. There, she worked with Ákos Kövér, a Hungarian physicist and now-retired professor, who confirmed her enrollment.
Kövér said in an email to the AP: “At the time, we also published some joint articles. I am not aware of her other activities.”
She interned at the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2008 and 2009, as confirmed by the agency, and once co-authored a paper for a UNESCO conference discussing the management of underground water.
On her social media accounts, she posted pictures from France, the U.K. and other places, mostly selfies or photos of places she said she was visiting. Few friends interacted with her messages, some inviting her to come visit or commenting on her appearance.
She speaks English, French, Italian and Hungarian, according to her social media, where she has occasionally made comments criticizing Ukraine or in support of children in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it carried out a “targeted strike” in Beirut on Friday, killing at least eight people, including Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil.
The United States had previously offered a “reward of up to $7 million for information leading to the identification, location, arrest, and/or conviction,” of Aqil, who it said was a leader of Hezbollah in the 1980s, when the group claimed responsibility for the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.
The White House earlier warned both Israel and Hezbollah against “escalation of any kind” following this week’s synchronized pager and walkie talkie explosions, but overnight, Israeli warplanes carried out dozens of strikes across southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah has continued firing back.
Lewis Lent was convicted for murdering two children in Massachusetts and New York, including 12-year-old Sara Anne Wood. But investigators still don’t know where he buried her.
Here’s a timeline of this decadeslong saga.
Oct. 22, 1990: Jimmy Bernardo disappears
Bernardo family
James “Jimmy” Bernardo, 12, goes missing. He was last seen outside the Pittsfield Plaza Cinema Center in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, around 5 p.m. Jimmy never came home, and his parents called the police later that evening.
Nov. 21, 1990: Jimmy Bernardo’s body is discovered
Hunters come across Jimmy Bernardo’s body off a dirt road in rural Newfield, New York, about 200 miles away from Pittsfield. Evidence at the scene showed he was murdered.
Nov. 6, 1992: Jamie Lusher goes missing
Handout
Jamie Lusher, a 16-year-old with disabilities, was last seen in Westfield, Massachusetts, while biking to his grandmother’s house. Jamie’s bicycle was discovered six days later in a field off a dead-end road in Westfield.
August 18, 1993: Sara Anne Wood disappears
Dusty Wood
Sara Anne Wood, 12, was last seen making the short trek home from Vacation Bible School in the rural area of Sauquoit, New York. Her family began looking for her after she failed to return home.
New York State Police
Later in the day, Sara’s bike was discovered by a neighbor hidden in the brush off the side of road about a half mile down the road from the Wood family’s home. Police were called and by early evening a massive search effort began.
Jan. 7, 1994: An attempted abduction leads to a major break in multiple cases
CBS News
Five months after Sara’s disappearance, a man attempted to abduct 12-year-old Becky Savarese as she was walking to school through downtown Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Becky escaped the attack and later that day a 43-year-old suspect named Lewis Lent was questioned by police.
New York State Police
While being questioned, Lewis Lent tells police he used to work as a part-time janitor at the Pittsfield Plaza Cinema Center, the last place Jimmy Bernardo was seen in 1990. Authorities suspected they may have more than a one-time offender on their hands and Lent was later arrested on charges relating to Becky Savarese’s case.
A teletype was sent out to law enforcement agencies across the region, including the New York State Police who arrived in Pittsfield later in the evening to question Lent about Sara Wood.
Evidence photo
After hours of questioning over the next two days, Lewis Lent confesses to the murders of Sara Wood and Jimmy Bernardo. Lent also told them chilling details about his “master plan”. He was building a large wooden partition in his bedroom to lock his victims in after abducting them.
Jan. 10, 1994: Investigators begin searching for Sara Wood in the Adirondack Mountains
New York State Police
A large, statewide search party descends upon an area near Raquette Lake in New York’s Adirondack Mountains to search an area using Lent’s description and hand drawn map of where he claimed to have buried Sara Wood. After more than 50 days of tedious searching through deep snow, authorities halted the effort.
On the same day, Lewis Lent is arraigned in Massachusetts on charges of kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon in the Becky Savarese case and pleads not guilty.
Feb. 14, 1994: Lewis Lent is indicted for the murder of Jimmy Bernardo
More than three years after Jimmy Bernardo’s death, Lent is indicted by a grand jury for kidnapping and murdering the boy. He was arraigned on the same day and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Jan. 7, 1995: Lent is found guilty for the attempted kidnapping of Becky Savarese
A year after Becky Savarese escaped, Lent is found guilty of her attempted kidnapping after a four-day trial. The next day, he is given a sentence of 17 to 20 years.
May 25, 1995: Sara Wood’s father bikes 600 miles to Washington, D.C.
Sara Wood’s father Bob Wood and brother Dusty Wood arrive in Washington D.C. after biking 600 miles from upstate New York to raise money and awareness for missing children and abduction prevention. This ride was turned into an annual shortened version that still continues.
June 3, 1996: Lent pleads guilty to killing Jimmy Bernardo
The day before his trial was set to begin for the murder of Jimmy Bernardo, Lent makes a surprise reversal and pleads guilty. This would not be the last time Lent surprises a courtroom. The judge immediately sentenced Lent to life in prison without parole.
June 7, 1996: Lent arrives in Herkimer, N.Y., to face charges for the murder of Sara Anne Wood
WKTV
Within days after pleading guilty to the murder of Jimmy Bernardo, Lent arrived in a bullet proof vest to a media frenzy in Herkimer County, New York, to face charges for the kidnapping and murder of Sara Wood. However, it would take months before justice can be served.
Oct. 16, 1996: Lewis Lent enters a plea
Sources from that time say Lent intended to plead guilty at his court hearing, but changed his mind and pleaded not guilty. “It’s my understanding that when he entered the courtroom, he saw certain members of the public, especially I think her family, so he decided on that day he did not want to enter a plea,” the current district attorney of Herkimer County, Jeffrey Carpenter, told “48 Hours.”
Oct. 25, 1996: Lent changes his mind — again
Lent decided to plead guilty to the kidnapping and murder of Sara Anne Wood. However, authorities say Lent continued to deny the Wood family closure by not giving up where Sara’s body is.
April 11, 1997: Lewis Lent is sentenced
AP
At Lent’s sentencing hearing, the Wood family and the then-district attorney of Herkimer County gave impact statements. Despite all the requests to reveal where he buried Sara, Lent remained silent. He was sentenced to 25 years-to-life for the kidnapping and murder of Sara Anne Wood. He was sent back to Massachusetts to serve the rest of his life in prison. But the job was not finished for investigators, who continued to visit Lent in prison in hopes he would reveal where he buried Sara and perhaps disclose the murders of other victims.
July 15, 2013: Massachusetts authorities announce Lewis Lent confessed to killing Jamie Lusher
Berkshire Eagle/Ben Garver
At a press conference in Westfield, Massachusetts, authorities announce Lent confessed to the murder of Jamie Lusher. In the days following this press conference, investigators searched Greenwater Pond in Becket, Massachusetts, where Lent told them he disposed of Jamie’s body. However, the search effort was unsuccessful and Jamie’s body remains missing.
As he has done many times before, Lent would later recant his confession. Authorities decided not to charge Lent with Jamie’s murder, hoping that one day he will lead them to his body.
That same month, New York authorities were granted permission to bring Lent back to New York to point out where he said he placed Sara Wood’s body. But after three days and more than 600 miles of driving, the operation ended without finding Sara and Lent was sent back to Massachusetts.
November 2023: Investigators search rural area in Vermont
New York State Police
Based on information Lent provided investigators, another search was conducted in Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont, just across the Massachusetts border. The search effort, this time once again for Sara Wood, also ended with no body found.
2024: Dusty Wood continues to ride his bike for missing children
CBS News
“48 Hours”‘ cameras joined Sara Wood’s brother, Dusty Wood, and other participants in the annual bike ride called the Ride for Missing Children. Refusing to let a family tragedy slow him down, Dusty pours his energy into honoring his sister and spreading awareness to help prevent the abduction of children.
June 18, 2024: Search of former house connected to Lent
Authorities search a property in Lanesborough, Massachusetts, connected to Lent. This property had been searched before in the 1990s and belonged to a then-friend of Lent. Lent had done some work in the basement of the house.
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