Vol. 5, No. 13
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May 1, 2008
Nevada's Online State News Journal-- Serving Informed Nevadans Since 2003
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Ricin Case Intriguing
As Facts Become Known
Other Cases In Country
Appear To Be Similar
by Johnny Gunn
The case of the Ricin in the Motel Room is a bit similar to a case of Ricin in the Post Office in South Carolina in that vials of home made ricin were used, possibly by someone who feels he has been wronged in some way. In Las Vegas, vials of ricin, enough to kill more than 500 people, were found in a motel room and the man who allegedly made the ricin is giving the impression he doesn’t know why he made the highly toxic poison. In South Carolina, it appears as though the ricin was made as a means of getting even with some person, or event, or threat. The Las Vegas man who has been arrested has hinted at possibly getting even with some one or some thing.
Mental stability has come into the conversation on both coasts, the difference being, the South Carolina suspect isn’t known yet. What isn’t known in Las Vegas is the primary question of why, and secondarily, just how many people may be involved. And, the third question that continues to linger in the back of the mind, is this a terrorist plot, conspiracy, effort?
Ricin has turned up at the White House mail facility and in the offices of Senator Bill Frist. The substance is made from castor beans and is left over from making castor oil. Its only known application outside criminal activity is in cancer research; it has no other uses. Ricin is considered a weapon of mass destruction, is believed to have been made and used by Sadaam Hussein in Iraq, and extremely difficult to track.
A man described in court as “inherently dangerous” was brought before a federal magistrate in Las Vegas following a period in which he was in a coma, possibly from ingesting or inhaling ricin that he allegedly had made and brought to Las Vegas, either from Reno or from Utah. Roger Von Bergendorff in a strange aside following his brief court appearance, told the judge he was not a child molester, which so far has no relevance to the crimes he is being accused of.
The FBI and other investigative agencies within Homeland Security, are not looking at the Las Vegas incident as a possible terrorist (international or home grown) plot, but part of that might be related to the history of ricin within terrorist plots. As the build up to the invasion of Iraq was mobilizing, terrorist plots following the destruction of New York’s twin towers were seen everywhere. One in Britain is still good for creating red faces among that nation’s finest investigation agencies, MI5. It is believed that a terrorist plot in the United Kingdom had ricin at it heart, even to the point of investigative agencies saying they had ricin in their possession from a terrorist lab. Nine people were arrested, most with middle east backgrounds, and the case was hailed as a huge success.
Looking back on the case, many believe it was a government conspiracy to justify Britain’s entry along with the U.S. in the invasion of Iraq. The case evaporated by April of 2005. There apparently was no ricin involved in anything. The “major Al Qaeda cell” appears to have never existed.
Roger Von Bergendorff’s case is considerably different from the British case, while law enforcement seems to be tippy toeing around the issue of potential terror threats. Bergendorff has ties to IGT in Reno where he worked as a graphic artist and also has ties to family in Utah. A cousin is under indictment for not telling police about Bergendorff’s manufacturing ricin. That’s a federal felony. Bergendorff has been known to owe hundreds of thousands of dollars to many in the health fields and he’s a loner with what many call social disabilities. He’s currently in jail with no bail.
Since 9/11 we think of terror from an international viewpoint rather than from a domestic point of view. Terrorists come in both flavors. The Unabomber was a terrorist. Timothy McVeigh was a terrorist. Bin Laden is a terrorist. Is Roger Von Bergendorff? Nevada’s new U.S. Attorney, Gregory Brower calls him dangerous. Along with the ricin, Bergendorff had other weapons with him, not the kind someone would take into the desert for a little beer can plinking.
Police say they found four weapons -- three semi automatic pistols and a rifle -- all with what have been described as home made silencers. Bergendorff’s preliminary hearing in federal district court is scheduled for May 2 before Federal Magistrate Peggy Leen. He will be defended by Federal Public Defender Paul Riddle. There are three counts in the official complaint: Possession of biological toxin-ricin, possession of unregistered firearms, and possession of firearms not identified by serial number. There is some confusion over the silencer question. There may have only been one home made silencer, not three or four.
The FBI does not have an excellent track record when it comes to dealing with domestic terrorism if one remembers the Oklahoma City bombing and the more recent anthrax attacks, which have never been solved. Anthrax killed several people and terrorized postal employees, federal Washington, DC employees at the capitol and in Congress, and no suspects have been arrested.
The concept of domestic terrorism is no different from that of the international criminals, to kill, disrupt, contaminate. The tiny amount of impure ricin that Bergendorff is accused of manufacturing could easily be distributed in an air conditioning system, and according to health officials, kill more than 500 people. It is obviously imperative that law enforcement find out what the motive behind the effort really is.
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