Vol. 5, No. 20
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August 15, 2008
Nevada's Online State News Journal-- Serving Informed Nevadans Since 2003
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COPYWRITING
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Ricin Case Closed?
It Appears So
A Guilty Plea Closes
A Strange Incident
At about the same time the FBI said it was closing in on the alleged perpetrator of the Anthrax Terrorist, the Ricin Case came to a close in Las Vegas. The alleged purveyor of Anthrax committed suicide before the FBI could arrest him and bring to trial for killing several and creating panic and terror following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The man who allegedly had enough deadly ricin with him in a Las Vegas motel room to kill hundreds of people was allowed a plea bargain that could result in a three year jail sentence.
Roger Bergendorff, a man who doesn’t appear to have a permanent home, was found ill in his motel room that later was found to have vials of ricin, a deadly biological agent that’s only non criminal purpose is in cancer research but that is known as a biological weapon that could be used in terrorism plots. The question of why Bergendorff had the agent has not been answered to this point. In court testimony, federal agents said they did not believe he had criminal intentions, that “he had no intention of hurting anyone.”
This is the sticking point in many people’s minds, and a point that has not been addressed by the authorities. Bergendorff has been described as having enemies, has been considered as suffering from a level of paranoia, and in court, has been having fantasies about committing crimes. He is found with a so called terrorists handbook giving the recipes for making ricin, had a crude form of ricin that he had made, and was armed with weapons that had silencers attached. It’s hard to understand, in today’s world with terrorist plots being uncovered daily, that this man “had no intentions of harming anyone.”
On September 11, 2001, U.S. airliners were hijacked by mid east terrorists believed to be members of Al Quaida, a group led by Osama Bin Laden, a Saudi Arabian. Thousands of people died in the attacks, and to this minute Bin Laden has not been captured or killed. On September 18, 2001 letters were mailed to two U.S. Senators including Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and magazine and newspaper offices that were laced with anthrax, a deadly biological weapon. Five people died from the attacks and 17 others were infected.
The FBI said recently that as they were closing in on arresting suspect Bruce E. Ivins, the man committed suicide. Ivins worked at Fort Detrick, Maryland, a federal biological weapons laboratory in which anthrax is manufactured, and with which, Ivins worked, as did many others. It is being alleged that Ivins took a short leave from his post one day and drove, with the anthrax laden letters to areas a considerable distance from the lab. Since Ivins is dead, there will be no details spelled out in court, nor will it ever be known whether the man was actually guilty.
The only difference in the two cases, that of ricin and anthrax, is the fact that in the anthrax case, there was an attack. If Ivins was the anthrax perpetrator, there is no known motive for his actions. Motives in the case of homegrown terrorism as opposed to international politically based terrorism are difficult to pin down according to those that work in police agencies. Nebulous thoughts of getting even because of some perceived action to opinions on subjects such as abortion can be involved.
Bergendorff did not harm anyone other than himself but it certainly hasn’t been proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he did not have an intent at harm. The anthrax attacks proved just how susceptible we are as a people to biological terror, and to simply say Bergendorff was just a confused man who didn’t mean any harm doesn’t add to our feelings of safety.
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