THE RICIN SOLUTION
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
THE RICIN SOLUTION
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
||||
|
|||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Thursday, February 5, 2004 'Fallen Angel' letters focus of ricin probe Author threatens to make ricin and 'start dumping' it
On GWEN IFILL: Senator Frist, are we prepared to minimize the risk? In this war-- and I think at this point, this is war on anthrax, on biological weapons, and it's evolved into that over
the last several days. But knowledge is power. It means that individuals today do need to take a little bit of time to learn
how to handle mail, to go to those sites, whether it's the CDC site or even on my own web site, I've listed how to best handle
mail on my web site today because I've gotten thousands of questions or inquiries over the last week I even put the images
of what the skin lesions should look like. At this standpoint individuals do need to have a lower bar, a lower threshold for
being suspicious. They need to be vigilant but at the same time they should be assured that we can respond in an appropriate way. But the
system has not yet and I don't think will be stressed because we have the very best public health people out there identifying
and communicating. Yes we can improve and we're going to do that with further funding. That's coming soon.
"It was bulging and there was something inside, and that was a
tip off," Zimmerman said. The envelope also had "caution-Ricin-poison" written on the front."
The note read as follows:
"To the department of transportation: I'm a fleet owner of a tanker company. I have easy access to castor pulp. If my demand is dismissed I'm capable of making Ricin, My demand is simple, You have been warned this is the only letter that will be sent by me. Fallen Angel " http://www.thecarolinachannel.com/news/2820318/detail.html POSTED: UPDATED: While
the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control says none of the 60 workers at the facility, the local president
of the postal workers union wonders how many days passed before a formal investigation began. Zimmerman
said the envelope did look suspicious at the time it was discovered because it lacked a return address, an insufficient delivery address and no postage. "It was bulging and there was something inside, and that was a tip off," Zimmerman
said. The envelope also had "caution-Ricin-poison" written on the front. Officials
have said they believe the letter was part of an extortion plot, as it referred to a bill in Congress involving truck drivers
and mentioned the Department of Transportation by name. Zimmerman
said he's relieve no one was hurt by this toxin, but still has concerns. "The
possibility of outrage is there, although we don't know enough facts to feel that way, but you wonder: If somebody [had gone]
to work last Wednesday and didn't come home, what was the cause of it? And if a large number of people didn't [come home],
there would be a great outrage," Zimmerman said. The
FBI is continuing to investigate the incident. Previous
Stories: Copyright
2003 by TheCarolinaChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. POSTED: The FBI and the Capitol
Police Department are investigating whether the person who sent ricin-laced
mail to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist also made threats in letters sent to the Upstate post office and a postal facility
that serves the White House. In October 2003, a package containing ricin (shown, left)
was sent to a A letter with the package
was signed "Fallen Angel" and included a threat
to use the poison as a weapon unless new trucking regulations are rolled back. The note read as follows:
to the department of transportation: I'm a fleet owner of a tanker company. I have easy access to castor pulp. If my demand is dismissed I'm capable of making Ricin. My demand is simple, You have been warned this is the only letter that will be sent by me. Fallen Angel Another letter that included
the same threat and was signed with the same name was found in a postal facility that processes mail for the White House in
November. The FBI is offering a $100,000
reward for information that leads to an arrest in this case. Anyone with informatiofriends stare in wonder at the amazing, simplistic beauty of this little gem. Featuring a gold
colored, polished metal surface, and a screw-tite, air and moisture proof closure, this handy little fob can hold up to 18
Nitroglycerine tablets at once. Previous Stories: Copyright 2004 by TheCarolinaChannel
and The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. POSTED: Sen.
Lindsey Graham said that Homeland Security officials say the government will improve its written procedures and coordination
with local agencies. Graham
said some officials involved in the handling of the ricin discovered at a regional mail facility in Officials
said investigators were not called for almost eleven hours
after ricin was discovered Oct. 15 at the postal distribution center that serves the The
public and local emergency and health officials were not informed of the potential threat until seven days after it was found.
Previous
Stories: Copyright
2003 by TheCarolinaChannel and The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten
or redistributed. *************************************************************************************************************************** Officials
said investigators were not called for almost eleven hours after ricin was discovered Oct. 15
2003 at the postal distribution center that serves the ************** ANTHRAX THREAT SUSAN DENTZER: Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle confirmed today that his personal office near the capitol had received a letter this morning containing suspicious powder. Preliminary
field tests indicated that the powder contained anthrax. ************************************************************************************************************************** POSTED: UPDATED: The
Greenville News reported Friday that federal investigators are
giving polygraph tests to workers at the facility and some truck drivers. Investigators
have said they don't believe the ricin was part of a terrorist plot. At least one source has said the package was part of
an extortion plot involving a bill in Congress to regulate truck drivers. American
Postal Workers Union local President Dennis Zimmerman said the testing has included at least one truck driver who became so
upset during the test that he ripped off the equipment used to monitor his reaction to questions. Zimmerman
said workers have complained questions are too personal. No
one was injured by the ricin, and the facility reopened after being closed for two days in late October. Previous
Stories: Copyright
2003 by TheCarolinaChannel and The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten
or redistributed. Officials: Better prepared for ricin scare
Ricin was
found in the Dirksen office building. WASHINGTON (AP) -- No one
has died from poisonous ricin found this week because the Capitol prepared for possible chemical and biological attacks after
the 2001 anthrax scare, government officials said.
Since October 2001, when two anthrax-laced letters were
sent to Democratic Sens. Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy, the federal government has instituted biohazard protocols for the
entire Capitol complex, made escape hoods available to almost all Capitol Hill employees, installed biohazard-blocking filters
into air conditioning ducts and instituted mail screening and irradiation for all incoming mail. While the safety protocols didn't stop the ricin from reaching
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's offices Monday afternoon, security officials were able to quickly determine that it hadn't
become airborne. The Senate workers who had come in contact with the ricin were sent home later that night after being decontaminated.
"This body is -- I hate to say it this way -- but it's so
much the better for what happened then," said Senate Sergeant-at-Arms William Pickle, a former Secret Service agent who is
in charge of providing security for the Senate. "We've learned a lot. The technology has improved greatly. And I think the
protocols and the processes that we've implemented here have made our chances of succeeding and doing things the right way
so much better here." But the new safety measures bothered at least one senator.
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, said Wednesday he is "livid" about the ricin scare and how "one terrorist spreading rat
poison can bring the government to half-mast." "I'm hopeful we'll get back into the buildings right away,"
Specter said. "I have been asking a lot of questions about why we're shut out of the buildings. I want to know why we're out
of our buildings when the House of Representatives maintains their buildings." Frist, R-Tennessee, announced Wednesday that the Senate
buildings would start reopening Thursday, with the Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, also complained that
she wasn't contacted as fast as she should have been after the discovery. "The one glitch was everybody was notified except
the senators," she said Tuesday. She said she didn't find out until a telephone call from her chief of staff Tuesday morning.
"They just goofed," she said. The Capitol was ill-prepared in 2001 for the anthrax attack,
with the spores entering the air of the The nine-story building closed for a three-month, $27 million
cleaning. No one died on Capitol Hill, but around the nation, five people were killed and 17 sickened after coming into contact
with letters containing anthrax. Officials were able to determine Monday night that the white
powder found in Frist's office contained ricin and that none of it had become airborne. They quickly sealed off the room and
decontaminated people who may have been exposed -- by having them shower and bag the clothes they were wearing. They also
closed Senate office buildings and prepared to collect all of Congress' mail for further testing. "We have come a long way," Daschle said Tuesday. "The fact
that we have filters in all of the ventilation systems throughout the buildings gives us an opportunity to check almost instantaneously
for the degree to which any toxic material may have spread. "We are very pleased that we have far more infrastructure
in place as a result of decisions that have been made in recent years." However, the Capitol may never be completely safe. "We will never be completely invulnerable to all of the
potential threats that exist out there," Daschle said. "What we have attempted to do over the last couple of years is to improve
our defenses to find ways with which to minimize the risk. And I think to a large extent we've been able to do a lot of that."
'Fallen Angel' letters focus of ricin probe
Author threatens to make ricin and 'start dumping' it
A vial containing
ricin found in a letter sent by "Fallen Angel" last fall. RELATED Interactive:
What is ricin? WASHINGTON (AP) -- Investigators
are trying to determine if a mysterious "Fallen Angel" who sent two threatening letters containing ricin last fall is responsible
for the deadly poison that turned up in the Senate this week. The earlier typewritten letters addressed to the White House
and Transportation Department warned that more ricin would be used unless new federal trucking regulations were scrapped.
The change in 60-year-old rules governing how often truck drivers must rest went into effect January 4. Three senior federal law enforcement officials, speaking
on condition of anonymity Wednesday, said the FBI and Capitol Police Department were investigating the possibility that the
same person or persons sent ricin-laced mail to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee. Hazardous materials teams from the FBI and Capitol police
searched for a letter or parcel that might have carried the ricin powder, which was found Monday in a mail-sorting room in
Frist's personal office. The ricin appeared limited to Frist's office in the Although three Senate buildings were closed for a second
day, Frist announced that they would begin opening on Thursday and the Dirksen building on Monday. No obvious connection to Senate incident Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer said investigators
have found "no obvious direct connection" between the Frist incident and the letters signed "Fallen Angel." Those letters were discovered in mail facilities that serve
the The letters, described as nearly identical, claimed that
the author owned a tanker truck fleet company and demanded that hours of service rules for drivers remain unchanged, according
to the FBI. The FBI said the The envelope contained no delivery address and no postmark.
No one has fallen ill as a result of any of the letters.
Ricin is a highly toxic substance that is relatively easy to make from castor beans. There is no known antidote but ricin
is considered a less effective weapon for causing mass casualties than anthrax, which was mailed to Senate offices in late
2001, because it is more difficult to make airborne and requires inhalation of large quantities to be fatal. The FBI focused on ricin in its weekly intelligence bulletin
to 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies. The confidential bulletin, obtained by The Associated Press, said no threat
of any kind had been received in the Frist case. It concentrated mostly on the dangers of ricin and how police should respond
to potential contamination. Truckers urged to be on the lookout The trucking industry has been working with the FBI and
Transportation Department inspector general's office on the investigation. The American Trucking Association has sent several
bulletins to its members urging them to be on the lookout for people "displaying aggressive behavior" or engaging in suspicious
activity. One association bulletin asked that members "be alert for
either a potential disgruntled trucking company, trucking company employee or person purporting to be from the trucking industry"
who has made threats in the past against government agencies. The regulations at the heart of the "Fallen Angel" letters
were four years in the making and drew some 53,000 comments when first proposed, trucking association spokesman Mike Russell
said. Many truckers and companies were concerned about lost pay and productivity because of stricter rest requirements. "It was controversial," Russell said. While the Secret Service spokeswoman Ann Roman said that after the
letter tested probable for ricin on November 12, the FBI and other agencies were notified. White House spokesman Scott McClellan
said Bush administration Homeland Security officials held a November 13 conference call with the FBI, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, Postal Service and other agencies to discuss what to do. Ultimately, the ricin in that letter was deemed to be of
a low grade and not a threat to public health, so no announcement was made. President Bush was not immediately informed, McClellan
said. "We share information appropriately, if there is a public
health risk," McClellan told reporters. The al Qaeda terror group has threatened to use ricin, but
officials have found no indication that the two "Fallen Angel" letters or the Frist incident are connected to international
terrorism. The FBI has offered a $100,000 reward for information leading
to an arrest in the "Fallen Angel" case. Copyright 2004
The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Susan Dentzer provides an update on the anthrax outbreaks, then Gwen Ifill discusses the public health threat with Senator
Bill Frist(R-TN) and U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher. The NewsHour Health Unit is funded by a grant from The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Special Report: The NewsHour's Health Spotlight. SUSAN DENTZER: Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle confirmed today that his
personal office near the capitol had received a letter this morning containing suspicious powder. Preliminary field tests
indicated that the powder contained anthrax. SUSAN DENTZER: Daschle said that staffers in his office who were exposed to the letter were being treated preventively
with antibiotics. They'll also be monitored closely for any signs of disease. At the White House today, President Bush was asked about a possible relationship between terrorist Osama bin Laden and
the anthrax scares. Grants would be channeled to state and local agencies to beef up hospitals' ability to respond to bioterrorism, and to
improve training of emergency personnel. And some of the funds would be used to beef up the government's stockpile of antibiotics,
which currently could treat up to two million people for about 60 days. By late today, the fear had turned global with anthrax scares erupting in countries from Educate,
not vaccinate Dr. Satcher, we have heard everything, we have heard about planes being grounded and cathedrals being evacuated. People
everywhere seem to be very jittery about this. About today's events particularly including the positive anthrax case at the
Capitol and also what we've heard coming out of GWEN IFILL: Senator Frist, are we prepared to minimize the risk? In this war-- and I think at this point, this is war on anthrax, on biological weapons, and it's evolved into that over
the last several days. But knowledge is power. It means that individuals today do need to take a little bit of time to learn
how to handle mail, to go to those sites, whether it's the CDC site or even on my own web site, I've listed how to best handle
mail on my web site today because I've gotten thousands of questions or inquiries over the last week I even put the images
of what the skin lesions should look like. At this standpoint individuals do need to have a lower bar, a lower threshold for
being suspicious. They need to be vigilant but at the same time they should be assured that we can respond in an appropriate way. But the
system has not yet and I don't think will be stressed because we have the very best public health people out there identifying
and communicating. Yes we can improve and we're going to do that with further funding. That's coming soon. Hoaxes
and paranoia You do need to know the facts. The fact is that anthrax is not contagious. It can't be spread from person to person. To
inhale it you have to have almost a huge cloud of anthrax. Of course, you have to have 10,000 spores just to get the infection.
The little skin lesions generally have to enter through an open cut, and they're imminently treatable. You can start antibiotics
days later. It's not just cipro, penicillin. People need to know you don't want to start antibiotics in advance. They're dangerous
to that in terms of resistance to microorganisms, in terms of the side effects. And you don't need gas masks and the like.
We need to have people reach out, be educated, talk to people about what is appropriate in terms of vigilance. With that we're
going to get through this just fine. Building
the public health defense GWEN IFILL: Dr. Satcher, let's talk about the Centers for Disease Control, which you used to run. You alluded a few minutes
ago to the fact that it needs some work. Is this $1.5 billion going to be enough? Is this stockpile we're talking about, increasing the stockpile I think to 12
million doses that Tommy Thompson was talking about, will that be enough? Is that realistic? That's what Secretary Thompson is asking for: Funds to continue that, to increase the stockpile in terms antibiotics and
vaccines, smallpox vaccines, et cetera. So I think it does need some help. We need to continue to strengthen it so that we
can respond to things that we can't predict. But nobody can say how big of an attack we might ultimately experience. But realistically
I think we're taking the right approach. GWEN IFILL: But let me ask you a practical question. There are four cities now where there have been reported confirmed
cases of anthrax circulated through the mail, circulated mostly as far as we know. US SURGEON GENERAL DAVID SATCHER: Well, you know, it's not really easy to develop the weapon of anthrax to affect a lot
of people. And I don't know if there's ever been a successful attack with the weapon as such for large numbers of people.
There was the accident in SEN. BILL FRIST: Let me.... DAVID SATCHER: Of controlling that. GWEN IFILL: Senator Frist. The focus today is on anthrax, but people should be aware that there are all sorts of other bio weapons that we need to
target, that we know are in the hands of people that we don't want to have. That's things like smallpox. It's tularemia; it
is pneumonic plague; it's the botulism toxins; therefore, we can focus on the vaccines and we should put emphasis there on
stockpiling but it is absolutely critical that we address this from the prevention standpoint, from the preparedness standpoint
and from the response standpoint. If you just had 10 million or 20 million doses of vaccine, you still have to address the
overall comprehensive aspects where there are gaps. That's why it's critical to support the overall public health infrastructure, which addresses surveillance for all of these,
communication amongst the various entities who need to communicate to report it quickly and have the laboratory support to
make the diagnosis so you can treat. GWEN IFILL: Senator, how big are those gaps now? Dr. Satcher just alluded to the fact that there are pretty big ones. But in truth what we need is help at the state and local level to make sure that physicians are trained to recognize these
systems that we have the Internet capability to communicate one to another. We need to make sure that the $1.5 billion is
appropriately distributed for preparedness and appropriate response and prevention and doesn't all just go to a single vaccine
or a single stockpile. SEN. BILL FRIST: Fantastic. US SURGEON GENERAL DAVID SATCHER: CDC supporting state and local health departments, strengthening laboratories. So we've
tried to develop a very strong network. Some of this money could go to further strengthen that network. An
educated response US SURGEON GENERAL DAVID SATCHER: We have to rely on the laboratories to make that... I don't think we can prepare people
to determine whether powder is anthrax. We rely upon the laboratories. People must consult their local health departments
if they have suspicions about products. So we're not asking people to be able to recognize anthrax. I think a high index of
suspicion is very important. They're just swabs; they are not disease. SEN. BILL FRIST: First of all I think for a more lengthy sort of explanation, go to the CDC web site or my web site. After initial exposure or suspected exposure where you want to lock down the room, wash your hands with soap and water,
not chlorine or other things but soap and water. Isolate yourself from other people. Relax. Don't panic. All of this is treatable,
imminently treatable. You will have a nasal swab; you will probably a blood test. Preliminary results will be back within six hours and final results in 48 hours. You'll likely be started on antibiotics,
probably penicillin in the meantime. It is 100 percent treatable or curable at that standpoint. GWEN IFILL: Dr. Satcher, do you want to add anything to that? But I want to say we haven't talked a lot about physicians and others on the front line who must be a major part of this
too and must not only report but also must counsel patients. The appropriate response is not to write a prescription for ciprol
because somebody is worried. The appropriate response is to educate them and to support them. GWEN IFILL: Dr. Satcher and Senator Frist, thank you both very much. US SURGEON GENERAL DAVID SATCHER: Thank you. SEN. BILL FRIST: Thank you. Nation Posted on ''The U.S. government has this well in hand,'' said Lee Browning, a researcher with a Texas seed company
who has consulted with the FBI about ricin production and was interviewed by agents from the Lubbock field office about recent
developments involving use of the poison. ``They will read this DNA, analyze the soil and the water content and be able to
say if it's coming from Authorities have not determined the source of ricin discovered in the office of Senate Majority Leader
Bill Frist, R-Tenn., or of samples found last October and November in postal facilities serving a USED IN ANTHRAX PROBE Genetic analysis also has been an important FBI focus in the investigation of the unsolved 2001 anthrax
mailings to Capitol Hill and to media outlets in Browning said federal agencies have geared up in recent years to handle the use of the toxin ricin,
a protein found in castor seeds, as a terrorist tool. Samples of numerous varieties of castor plants have been collected by
federal officials for use in forensic and scientific analysis, he said. After ricin was found on a mail sorting machine in the NOT AMATEUR'S WORK Browning, however, questioned the assessment that ricin is an ''active'' or highly potent powder. He
does not believe it could be the work of an amateur using homegrown formulas and simple equipment. Extracting ricin is a dangerous
process, he said, that requires chemistry knowledge and advanced scientific equipment. ''There is currently no Castor plants grow profusely in the wild in many warm areas of the Chemical &
Biological #156 Prepared By Chemical and Biological Arms Control Institute Biological Weapons October 15: In recent days, there have been numerous reports, several confirmed and many bogus, that the rare and
deadly disease anthrax has been transmitted to people through suspicious letters and packages. Secretary of Health and
Human Services Tommy Thompson said that it is certainly an act of terrorism to send anthrax through the mail. Although
there have been anthrax scares around the world, the presence of anthrax has only been confirmed in letters sent to Florida,
New York City, Nevada, and Washington, D.C. Bush administration officials have stated that there is no direct evidence
linking Osama bin Laden to these events, but his involvement is still considered a possibility. [Salon.com, The following is a brief synopsis of anthrax-related events: On October 5, Robert Stevens, a photo editor for the tabloid publication company American Media Inc. (AMI), died in Ms. Erin M. OConnor, an assistant to Tom Brokaw of NBC Nightly News, has been diagnosed with cutaneous (skin) anthrax.
Another woman who works for NBC has also developed symptoms consistent with cutaneous anthrax, although final test results
are still pending. These cases both occurred after NBC received two letters, one from After several inconclusive tests, a letter sent to Microsoft Licensing Inc. in President Bush revealed Sunday that Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschles office received a letter that contained anthrax.
The staffer who opened the mail discovered a suspicious powder in the envelope and immediately alerted authorities.
Employees in the Senators office are being treated with antibiotics, and the contents of the envelope have been sent to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for further testing. [CNN.com, A letter sent to Judith Miller of The New York Times on October 12 from A 58 year-old male employee of the Ford Motor Companys October 9: October 2: The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, called on all UN Member States to tighten controls over
biological and nuclear weapons, which he called the gravest threat the world faces following the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Since the attacks, the World Health Organization has increased its assistance to countries that are preparing for a potential
attacks involving weapons of mass destruction. [The Financial Times, Chemical Weapons October 8: October 5: Jose M. Bustani, Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), warned
the international community that the organization lacks the money to carry out its basic operations. This year the OPCW
could only carry out half of its scheduled inspections. Bustani also cautioned that if the OPCWs financial situation
does not improve, it would not be capable of providing any nation with a meaningful response in the event of a chemical weapons
attack. These problems have primarily stemmed from member nations, including the October 2: Pentagon officials told lawmakers that the Updated: SPECIAL NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT FROM PRESIDENT BENJAMIN
LADNER FOR ALL AMERICAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS, FACULTY, STAFF, AND ALUMNI MEMORANDUM TO: Campus Community FROM: Benjamin Ladner SUBJECT: Capitol Hill
Incident Yesterday (Monday, October 15), the Office of Senator Tom Daschle received a letter
or package through the mail that potentially exposed some workers in his office to anthrax. Capitol Police and the Capitol
physician were contacted, proper medical protocols followed, and the staff received immediate treatment. An ] Discovered
on: Last Updated on: NOTE: The definitions that Symantec's Digital Immune System automatically created previously detected W32.Swen.A@mm as
Worm.Automat.AHB. Due to an increase in submissions, Symantec Security Response has upgraded W32.Swen.A@mm to
Category 3, as of Discovered on: Last Updated on: THE RICIN SOLUTION (C) 2003
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Ricin Solution? Censored by Jim Robinson Freerepublic.com on FreeRepublic.com "A Conservative News Forum" [ Browse | Search | Topics | Post Article | My Comments ] Click to scroll to commentary. 'Fallen
Angel' letters focus of ricin probeAuthor threatens to make ricin and 'start dumping' it Posted on A vial containing ricin found in a letter sent by "Fallen Angel" last fall. CNN's Kelli Arena reports investigators are looking for links between the current ricin incident and earlier threatening
letters. CNN's Jeanne Meserve reports Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist calls the toxin incident both terrorist and criminal.
Frist says 'everybody is fine' after preliminary tests indicate traces of ricin inside his office's mailroom. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta gives details on the deadly toxin. FBI seeks info, offers reward WASHINGTON (AP) -- Investigators are trying to determine if a mysterious "Fallen Angel" who sent two threatening letters
containing ricin last fall is responsible for the deadly poison that turned up in the Senate this week. The earlier typewritten letters addressed to the White House and Transportation Department warned that more ricin would
be used unless new federal trucking regulations were scrapped. The change in 60-year-old rules governing how often truck drivers
must rest went into effect January 4. Three senior federal law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity Wednesday, said the FBI and Capitol
Police Department were investigating the possibility that the same person or persons sent ricin-laced mail to Senate Majority
Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee. Hazardous materials teams from the FBI and Capitol police searched for a letter or parcel that might have carried the
ricin powder, which was found Monday in a mail-sorting room in Frist's personal office. The ricin appeared limited to Frist's
office in the Although three Senate buildings were closed for a second day, Frist announced that they would begin opening on Thursday
and the Dirksen building on Monday. No obvious connection to Senate incident Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer said investigators have found "no obvious direct connection" between the Frist
incident and the letters signed "Fallen Angel." Those letters were discovered in mail facilities that serve the The letters, described as nearly identical, claimed that the author owned a tanker truck fleet company and demanded
that hours of service rules for drivers remain unchanged, according to the FBI. The FBI said the No one has fallen ill as a result of any of the letters. Ricin is a highly toxic substance that is relatively easy
to make from castor beans. There is no known antidote but ricin is considered a less effective weapon for causing mass casualties
than anthrax, which was mailed to Senate offices in late 2001, because it is more difficult to make airborne and requires
inhalation of large quantities to be fatal. The FBI focused on ricin in its weekly intelligence bulletin to 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies. The
confidential bulletin, obtained by The Associated Press, said no threat of any kind had been received in the Frist case. It
concentrated mostly on the dangers of ricin and how police should respond to potential contamination. Truckers urged to be on the lookout The trucking industry has been working with the FBI and Transportation Department
inspector general's office on the investigation. The American Trucking Association has sent several bulletins to its members
urging them to be on the lookout for people "displaying aggressive behavior" or engaging in suspicious activity. One association bulletin asked that members "be alert for either a potential disgruntled trucking company, trucking
company employee or person purporting to be from the trucking industry" who has made threats in the past against government
agencies. The regulations at the heart of the "Fallen Angel" letters were four years in the making and drew some 53,000 comments
when first proposed, trucking association spokesman Mike Russell said. Many truckers and companies were concerned about lost
pay and productivity because of stricter rest requirements. "It was controversial," Russell said. While the Secret Service spokeswoman Ann Roman said that after the letter tested probable for ricin on November 12, the FBI and
other agencies were notified. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush administration Homeland Security officials held
a November 13 conference call with the FBI, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Postal Service and other agencies
to discuss what to do. Ultimately, the ricin in that letter was deemed to be of a low grade and not a threat to public health, so no announcement
was made. President Bush was not immediately informed, McClellan said. "We share information appropriately, if there is a public health risk," McClellan told reporters. The al Qaeda terror
group has threatened to use ricin, but officials have found no indication that the two "Fallen Angel" letters or the Frist
incident are connected to international terrorism. The FBI has offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the "Fallen Angel" case. TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; News/Current Events; War on Terror; Click to Add Topic [ Report Abuse | Bookmark ] Truckers Look in Their Ranks for 'Fallen Angel' Writer By ANDREW JACOBS Published: "I'm a fleet owner of a tanker company," it said. "I have access to castor pulp," a reference to the raw material to
make the deadly compoundicin. "If my demand is dismissed, I am capable of making Ricin." The note, attached to a metal vial containing the powder and addressed to the Transportation Department, was dropped
off in October at a mail-sorting office at The president of the South Carolina Trucking Association, Rick Todd, said if the person responsible for the ricin contamination
was a trucker "it is certainly awful for the image of our industry, especially for the millions of hard-working truck drivers
across "It's hard to imagine anyone could be this upset about these changes," Mr. Todd said......" http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/05/national/05TRUC.html?ex=1076562000&en=38f8269545028d1c&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE 1 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies | Report Abuse ] "Fallen Angel" sending ricin to Bill Frist... 2 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] "I'm a fleet owner of a tanker company," it said thats more than likely to be a bald-faced lie to throw off investigators. He might be a trucker who hauls cattle and just knows how to make ricin because he took a college course 20-years ago... 3 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] "I'm a fleet owner of a tanker company," it said.
"I have access to castor pulp," That shouldn't be too hard to track down. Who transports pulp, and who owns the fleets? Check a Caster oil company.
It doesn't seem like that huge a business. 4 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] The American Trucking Association has sent several
bulletins to its members urging them to be on the lookout for people "displaying aggressive behavior" or engaging in suspicious
activity. Well, that narrows it down. 5 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] Have any photos of the letters or envelopes been
released? Also was the content of the final anthrax letter ever released? Was it a photocopy of the earlier letters or did it
have a different message? 6 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] Ricin Road Rage 7 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] Those sinister truckers, terrorist purveyors of
WMD. 8 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] PHOTO: "A vial containing ricin found in a letter
sent by "Fallen Angel" last fall." 9 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] The anthrax mailer reward of $2.5 mil was so successful
that: "The FBI has offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the "Fallen Angel" case." 10 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] The FBI said the 11 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] At least he's a nice terrorist. I think this
rules out a muslim extremist. The anthrax letters helpfully warned the recipients that it was anthrax and advised them to take antibiotics. 12 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] You want to say "TRUCKING REGULATIONS?!?", but I
think we all understand how every federal regulation seems to screw somebody over another. 13 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] eXistenZ, retreat troll many times over banned. 14 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] Perhaps that's why everyone thought anthrax man
would be a right-winger? 15 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] er, retreat, repeat, retread, etc., what's the diff.
A troll by any other name is still a troll (some parts plagiarized). 16 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] Weird. Do you have any information as to what his
agenda was? 17 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] Trent Lott?
S'okay. When I first heard on the news that "a foreign substance" had been found in a Senate office building, my first
thought was "integrity?"... 18 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] You mean it was spelled correctly. Rather than RYESIN
POYZIN. 19 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] "The regulations at the heart of the "Fallen
Angel" letters were four years in the making and drew some 53,000 comments when first proposed, trucking association spokesman
Mike Russell said. Many truckers and companies were concerned about lost pay and productivity because of stricter rest requirements.
"It was controversial," Russell said. " Somebody at HSS will be working late (yeah right) sifting through old paperwork... 20 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] Oh well...Zotted! 21 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] ping 22 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] Sorry, ping to you, not to me. 23 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] Do you have any information as to what his agenda
was? The mind is its own place, and in it self 24 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] Let's see... Google tells me there's a Fallen Angel anime, a Fallen Angel band from LA, a "Fallen Angel" episode of The X-Files, a Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie, (plus a few other references at IMDB), a heavy-metal band from Spain, ... that's about it. 25 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] "Fallen Angel" - a CB handle? The name of his truck?
It would seem too obvious, but who knows? 26 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] This is just so weird. This guy is just so specific
and so petty. You'd think he'd go with a more general rant about government power if only to cover his tracks a little better.
If this guy is who he says he is he ought to be fairly easy to catch. There aren't many disgruntled owners of tanker companies
with access to castor pulp. 27 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] Rather than RYESIN POYZIN. 28 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] ...that's about it. Not quite. You forgot Fallen Angels, by Jerry Pournelle. I'm trying to figure if there's anything in that book that would relate to this but I'm drawing a blank. Still, might
be worth checking into it for hunches/clues, in case the perp is a sci-fi fan and was trying to send a message via the name
he gave himself. The book is rife with "clues" of that sort (double entendre names and so forth), woven into the storyline.
Plus, they put it online for free reading (either online, or via download in several formats). Might not hurt to get
with the publisher (Baen) to see if their logs show any downloads from the region around that airport in SC. Anyone else read that book? Can you think of anything in it that would relate to this case? Maybe a frustrated NASA
(or ex-NASA) guy? Any NASA facilities in NC? (Or any that closed down?) 29 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] Whoa! 30 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] Thinking... 31 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] Anyone else read that book? Can you think of
anything in it that would relate to this case? Maybe a frustrated NASA (or ex-NASA) guy? Any NASA facilities in NC? (Or any
that closed down?) Interesting! A Jerry Pournelle fan... how about the son of the owner of a trucking company who's been complaining about
the new regs? Yeah, that sounds more like it. I don't think that producing ricin is all that high-tech, from what little I
remember reading once. 32 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] The FBI should contact "the Moose" to help them
solve this case! 33 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] I just woke up to take my pain meds (I hate when
that happens), and a light lit up over my head. WHAT were the hereos in the book transporting IN the-van-hidden-in-the-truck? WHAT did EVERY truck in the book, that transported anything, transport what it was transporting for the
benefit of? (In other words, why were they transporting whatever they were transporting?) Ta da... for the benefit of Illegal Aliens! The entire book was the story of transporting illegal aliens! A big chunk of the story happens in the Southwest, too. Am I brilliant or what? <g> Well, maybe "or what". (Especially if all this brainfarting leads down a dead end.) Are there any trucking companies in NC that are involved, even tangentially, with transporting illegal aliens? Perhaps
hidden in food shipments from 34 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] I don't think that producing ricin is all that
high-tech, from what little I remember reading once. From the way they were talking on Fox News, this was a very low grade, I think they said it was just a bunch of ground
up castor beans. (I confess I wasn't paying too much attention. News overload. It's like the nighly "News Alerts" they flash
about an attack on our guys in 35 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] thats more than likely to be a bald-faced lie
to throw off investigators. That occurred to me also. 36 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] I did a word search of the book, and the only mention
of the word "casters" (different spelling from "castor", but hey) is when they were sneaking a decoy in a huge shipping
crate (not using the word "shipping", but clearly described as one), to distract the police, while they snuck the illegal
aliens out the back. The casters were making noise, and it attracted attention. Hmm... From Chapter Ten: The rumble of casters caught their attention, and
they turned just as Hal Blandings and three other Lunarians emerged from the north wing pushing a handcart with a large cardboard
box on it. They headed straight across the-foyer toward the front door. Tremont was stunned. The sheer audacity of it! Lunarian
fanac always inspired a certain amount of awe among the more circumspect fen. But this . . . He realized that his fingers
were crossed and quickly uncrossed them. When he saw the tip of the snorkel protruding from the styrofoam, he held his breath.
Did they have both Angels in there? The three cops stared for a moment, then Zaftig shouted. "Hey, you four!" The Lunarians halted just at the front door. Zaftig grabbed Hal by the arm. "Got you, you technomaniac." He pointed
at the cardboard box. "That there's styrofoam," he announced. "You know better than that. Wasting valuable resources." He
grinned. "Or maybe you don't know better. You will, though." "Sergeant Zaftig," said Arteria, "that is not why we are here."The Green turned to the Air Force captain. "You stay
out of this, Captain. Environmental laws are my jurisdiction. Anyplace, anytime." He faced Blandings. "What've you
got to say for yourself, techie?" [...] Meanwhile, back at the front door, one of the Lunarians was showing Zaftig a certificate proclaiming that the styrofoam
in the box was 100 percent recycled material. So was the box. "Recycling! It's important! The paper they use in some of those
fast-food places, that's from trees! They cut down trees for that! And we can recycle styrofoam. You know how much energy
it takes to recycle styrofoam? Not much. But trees, it takes a long time to grow trees! Owls roost in trees! Trees are important.
Sergeant, aren't you for ecology?" The tip of the snorkel sank deeper into the chips. Zaftig sprang. "There's someone hiding in this box." Arteria stiffened and looked at Tremont. "Smuggling out a fugitive, are you? That was a pretty clumsy maneuver." [...] Zaftig yanked on the snorkel and its wearer emerged dripping plastic chips, a fish hoisted from the styrofoamy sea.
The burly bushy-haired Seth looked around the foyer, wide-eyed. He took the snorkel from his mouth. "Is the book auction over
already?" Zaftig grabbed him by the wrist. "Is this one of them?" he asked Arteria. The AP captain scowled. "Does this look like a 'spectrally thin superman' to you?" A grunt of disgust, but before Arteria
could turn away, Horowitz had blocked the way. 37 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] One last thought along these lines... The book's title -- "Fallen Angels" (plural) -- refers to the two "Illegal Aliens". If the perp in this case is using that as a reference of sorts, it might
indicate that he (singular) is himself an illegal alien. So, if that's the case, the question becomes one of who in the illegal alien smuggling trade would be affected by the
change in rest period for truck drivers? I thought that trucks coming in from This is actually starting to make sense to me as a potentially plausible scenario! 38 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] This is the new face of American political discourse.
Perfectly predictable, when "egalitarianism" is mindlessly expanded to include the criminals, the neurotics, the clinical
morons, and the insane. Their view of the universe is pretty much "do things my way or I might kill you". And the overwhelming majority seem to be solid members of the "progressives". The new face of the communist party,
AKA Democrats. DU is a perfect example of what they are and how tenuous their grasp of reality truly is. 39 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] A bit of a nonsequitor in my train of thought above,
but I still think it makes sense as a possible lead. 40 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] "It's hard to imagine anyone could be this upset
about these changes," Mr. Todd said......" It's not just "these changes". I think a boiling point has been reached in this country and some are just sick and
tired or it. 41 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] In pride, in reas'ning pride, our error lies; 42 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] To: Don Joe; eXistenZ; allen; Mitchell; endthematrix; seamole "One last thought along these lines... have to stop for ten hours of rest? " 43 posted on [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies | Report Abuse ] Disclaimer: Opinions posted on [ Browse | Search | Topics | Post Article | My Comments ] FreeRepublic, LLC, FreeRepublic.com
is powered by software copyright 2000-2003 Robinson-DeFehr Consulting, LLC. eXistenZ This account has been banned or suspended. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
