As suspects smirk, friends cite gentle side

The two young men charged with perpetrating a hoax that gripped the city launched into a smirking, rambling performance - art skit yesterday as reporters sought to question them about the terrorism scare. As their chagrined lawyer looked on, Sean Stevens, 28, of Charlestown and Peter Berdovsky, 27, announced they would respond only to questions about human hair.

"What I'm wondering right now is whether or not the Beatles' hair style . . . did it actually go into the '70s or was it all stuck in the '60s?" Berdovsky asked quizzically.

Stevens and Berdovsky refused to address the havoc their work created, the inconvenience to commuters, and the massive police deployment that officials say cost more than $1 million.

"I feel like my hair is pretty perfect," said Berdovsky, flipping back his dreadlocks in front of a phalanx of cameras.

But friends and family say that despite the bravado, the techno-savvy Charlestown roommates were terrified Wednesday as they watched Boston and State Police swarm the city in response to the publicity stunt.

"He's really shy and quiet," Lorraine Stevens of Arlington said of her grandson. She said he visits her regularly and recently fixed her laptop. "He really is a computer nerd. That's what he is."

As the advertising firm that created the campaign continued yesterday to withhold comment, Stevens and Berdovsky provided the only public face of the botched marketing campaign, which has brought international attention to Boston. The men also grinned impishly and gestured during their arraignment.

Young people held signs of support at the arraignment in Charlestown District Court and contended that the artists were being scapegoated by a giant corporation, Turner Broadcasting System Inc. , which hired the advertising firm Interference Inc. to market a cartoon show. One friend brought organic bread for Stevens in case he grew hungry.

According to friends, Stevens and Berdovsky, who perform and install video art, were elated to be hired to hang the magnetic cartoon signs around the city to promote the show "Aqua Teen Hunger Force ." In November, Berdovsky met a man in Brooklyn, N.Y., who asked him whether he was interested in the work, and Berdovsky later recruited Stevens, according to a police report. The two men were to be paid $300 each by Interference.

The two, who live in an apartment next to railroad tracks just off Interstate 93, are huge fans of the show, which features "Mooninite" cartoon figures and animated French Fries, a meatball, and a milkshake.

"They were really excited," said Travis Vautour , 24, of Cleveland Circle. "We saw all the pieces up two or three weeks ago, and we all had a good laugh."

The laughter faded late Wednesday morning when the friends saw television footage of police blowing up one of the signs and realized what was happening. The friends e-mailed links to the footage to one another. About 1:25 p.m. Berdovsky e-mailed several friends and said the advertising firm had told him to keep quiet, friends said .

"Had they foreseen anything like this happening, they wouldn't have done it at all," Vautour said. "It isn't an act of rebellion; it's just a job."

Relatives and friends posted the $2,500 cash bail for both men. They pleaded not guilty to one count of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, and one count of placing a hoax device, a felony that carries a maximum of five years' imprisonment.

Friends described the defendants as easygoing. Stevens is so concerned about the environment that until recently he did not own a car, his grandmother said. Berdovsky, according to his lawyer, had to seek political asylum in the United States because of his criticism of the dictatorship in Belarus, where he was born. Berdovsky immigrated to the United States in 1996.

"They're both super, sweet-hearted guys," said Toshi Hoo , 33, of San Francisco, who is a member of Glitchcrew, a group of videographers Berdovsky co founded.

The impromptu and bizarre press conference outside the courthouse eventually turned testy.

When the men's lawyer, Michael L. Rich , told reporters to leave them alone if they did not appreciate his clients' comments, Berdovsky chimed, "I'm quite enjoying this."

Later, however, the men avoided the press. Lorraine Stevens, 74, said her grandson called her after the press conference and apologized for his antics. She said he told her: "I don't know what I'm doing. I'm all upset."

And yesterday evening, Berdovsky retained a prominent criminal attorney, Walter Prince, and released a more sober statement: "I regret that this incident has created such anguish and disruption for the residents and law enforcement officers of this city. I certainly never intended to do anything to frighten this community, which has welcomed and nurtured me for ten years."

Both men attended Arlington High School, according to friends and family. Berdovsky graduated in December 2005 from Massachusetts College of Art with a bachelor's degree that was completed with distinction. Stevens also took courses at the art school, his grandmother said.

Stevens excels at technology, particularly light displays he sets to music, according to his friends. A computer consultant with his own business, he is quiet until someone brings up an issue that intrigues him, said Vautour.

Berdovsky was described as passionate and charismatic, charming most people he meets with his enthusiasm for art.

Vautour, who blamed the advertising firm and Turner Broadcasting for his friends' ordeal, said the event will not stop him from watching "Aqua Teen."

"I can't hold the Mooninites responsible for what's happened," he said.

Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com. April Simpson of the Globe staff contributed to this report.