Traces of ricin were found in the martial arts studio of a US man charged in a bizarre plot to send poisoned letters to President Barack Obama and other public officials, the FBI said Tuesday.
The letters were intercepted as the nation was still reeling from the Boston Marathon bombings, but the nerve-wracking plot took a strange turn last week when it turned out that the motivation was likely revenge, not terrorism.
James Everett Dutschke, 41, is accused of trying to frame a fellow Mississippi man with whom he'd had what the FBI described as a "contentious relationship." At first, the alleged plan seemed to have worked.
Elvis impersonator Paul Kevin Curtis, 45, was arrested after officials found that the ricin-laced letters contained the title of a book he was writing about an alleged black market for human body parts.
The letters were also littered with phrases Curtis used on his Facebook page and in correspondence with the Mississippi senator who was also targeted.
Curtis immediately pointed the finger at his rival and the FBI turned its attention to Dutschke, who also had a long-standing dispute with a Mississippi judge who was among the three targets of the poisoned letters.
Dutschke apparently got nervous after defense attorneys blamed him publically for the plot and an FBI agent testified that no ricin was found in Curtis's home.
But he didn't notice the FBI agents who were following him as he went to his former Taekwondo dojo on April 22 to pick up a coffee grinder -- which can be used to extract ricin from castor beans -- a dust mask and latex gloves.
He was spotted dumping them out the window of his van into a public garbage bin about 100 yards away, charging papers said.
The FBI picked them out of the trash and also collected the contents of the bin outside Dutschke's house. Many of the items tested positive for ricin, as did the drain traps at the dojo, the charging papers said.
Dutschke also tried to wipe his computer clean of any traces of his research by reinstalling the operating system on April 22.
But the computer had already been searched by state police after he was arrested in January on child molestation charges.
So the FBI was able to detect that he'd downloaded two documents describing the safe handling and detection of ricin on December 31.
They also found records that Dutschke ordered 100 red castor beans off eBay in November and December.
"I understand that the number of castor beans ordered is more than sufficient to extract the quantity of ricin found in the three letters," Special Agent Stephen Thomason wrote.
Dutschke faces up to life in prison if convicted of "knowingly developing, producing, stockpiling, transferring, acquiring, retaining and possessing a biological agent, toxin and delivery system, for use as a weapon."
AFP
Tue Apr 30 2013
Penipuan ujian kenderaan: Jepun periksa ibu pejabat Honda
Honda menjadi syarikat keempat yang diperiksa di bawah undang-undang kenderaan pengangkutan jalan raya selepas Toyota Motor Corp., Yamaha Motor Co., dan Suzuki Motor Corp.
Blinken tiba di Mesir, dijangka desak gencatan senjata di Gaza
Dalam lawatan kerja tersebut, Blinken dijadual bertemu Presiden Mesir, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, di Kaherah sebelum ke Israel untuk mengadakan pertemuan dengan Benjamin Netanyahu.
Puak haluan kanan tengah umum kemenangan
Puak kanan tengah Kesatuan Eropah (EU) meraikan kemenangan selepas keputusan sementara untuk pilihan raya Parlimen Eropah meningkatkan peluang Presiden Suruhanjaya Eropah Ursula von der Leyen untuk penggal kedua, dalam undian yang turut menyaksikan lonjakan pihak sayap kanan.
Dua militan diburu dipercayai serang bas jemaah hindu
Pasukan penyiasat ketika ini sedang mengumpul bukti di lokasi kejadian termasuk serpihan, manakala kawasan hutan berhampiran dikawa rapi oleh pihak keselamatan.
AS hormati hak protes rakyat Malaysia
Amerika Syarikat menghormati hak rakyat Malaysia untuk mengadakan protes secara aman sebagai menyatakan rasa tidak puas hati terhadap Israel berhubung konflik di Gaza.
Pengorbanan, impian pasangan Palestin tunai haji
Cerita dan perjuangan Mahmoud dan Fatima untuk menunaikan Haji suatu yang indah dan penuh pergorbanan.
Johan, Ozlynn hampir terlepas pesawat, ingat kena 'scam'
Keberangkatan ke Makkah untuk pasangan selebriti, Johan dan Ozlynn hampir bertukar duka apabila Johan hampir terlepas pesawat akibat kekeliruan nama pada visa miliknya itu.
Kerahan mega digembleng, pastikan kelancaran pergerakan
Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) melakukan perancangan teliti dan teratur dengan kerahan tenaga digembleng untuk Operasi Masyair, iaitu kemuncak kepada operasi haji, bagi memastikan kelancaran dan keselesaan pergerakan untuk semua jemaah serta lebih 600 petugas.
Muhyiddin gusar akan nasib rakyat yang terkesan
Pengerusi Perikatan Nasional (PN), Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin meluahkan rasa sedih susulan tindakan kerajaan untuk menaikkan harga diesel RM 3.35 seliter.
MyCC giat buat pemantauan dan penguatkuasaan ketat
Suruhanjaya Persaingan Malaysia (MyCC) akan bekerjsama rapat dengan Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri dan Kos Sara Hidup (KPDN) serta Kementerian Kewangan (MOF) bagi mendapatkan data penting berkait kegiatan kartel dalam negara.
"Tahniah rakanku!" Ucapan Barack Obama kepada Biden
Bekas Presiden Amerika Syarikat (AS) ke-44, Barack Obama menzahirkan ucapan tahniah kepada Joe Biden sempena majlis angkat sumpahnya sebagai Presiden AS ke-46.
Sekurang-kurangnya 13 maut dalam insiden tembakan di kolej Oregon
Dalam reaksinya, Presiden AS, Barack Obama merayu kawalan pemilikan senjata di negara itu dipertingkatkan sambil membidas kongres yang dikatakan gagal mengambil langkah sewajarnya.
Foto anak sulung Obama, Malia viral di internet
Setelah sekian lama menerima perlindungan ketat Rumah Putih, berhubung penampilannya, satu imej anak sulung Presiden Amerika Syarikat, Malia Obama, 16, menjadi viral di media sosial.
Obama: 'Saya tidak dibenar menggunakan iPhone'
Presiden Amerika Syarikat akui bahawa beliau tidak dibenarkan mengguna iPhone atas dasar keselamatan; oleh kerana itu beliau sering kelihatan dengan Blackberry.
Obama datang Malaysia bulan hadapan
Lawatannya menjadikan beliau Presiden Amerika Syarikat pertama yang melawat negara ini dalam tempoh lebih empat dekad.
Bukti lengkap perlu sebelum campur tangan dalam konflik Syria
Presiden Amerika Syarikat, Barack Obama menegaskan bukti lengkap dan kukuh diperlukan sebelum memuktamadkan bentuk campur tangan dalam konflik Syria.
Saudara tiri Obama bakal bertanding di Kenya
Saudara tiri presiden Barack Obama telah melancarkan kerjaya politik sendiri dengan mengumumkan niatnya untuk bertanding di daerah Kogelo pada Mac 4.
Obama mahu kawal penggunaan senjata
Presiden Barack Obama berikrar untuk melakukan apa yang terdaya bagi mengawal penggunaan senjata dan mengelak keganasan.