Posted by Lew Weinstein on April 12, 2011
to learn more about Lew Weinstein and his novels,
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This entry was posted on April 12, 2011 at 7:15 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. Tagged: *** 2001 anthrax attacks, *** Amerithrax, *** Dr. Bruce Ivins, *** FBI anthrax investigation, Anwar Awlaki, Ayman Zawahiri. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
DXer said
Upates: FBI director testifies
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/06/13/live-updates-fbi-director-testifies/
Mueller: Snowden has caused significant ‘harm’
In his introductory remarks, FBI director Robert Mueller said that former contractor Edward Snowden’s disclosure of sweeping surveillance programs has caused “significant harm to our nation and our safety.”
He added that the leak is being fully investigated and said that the programs have been conducted in accordance with “the constitution and U.S. laws.”
In listing the FBI’s most important challenges, Mueller said that the “terrorist threat remains our top priority,” making specific mention of the continuing threat from “homegrown terrorism.”
http://www.amerithrax.wordpress.com
DXer said
An August 2010 AP item on Adnan El-Shukrijumah:
“The FBI is still hoping to bring charges in South Florida against Shukrijumah, but key information about him was provided by Guantanamo Bay detainees such as Mohammed, whose use as a witness would be difficult.
“For us, it’s never been a dry hole. It’s always been an active investigation and it’s global in nature,” LeBlanc said. “We have never stopped working it.”
___
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/08/06/ap-exclusive-new-al-qaida-leader-knows-us-well/#ixzz2SntteXpI
DXer said
The reason KSM says he was so talkative in interrogation — for example, about Yazid Sufaat — was that he assumed the government knew about it given he was reading about his anthrax planning all over the internet. :0) Yazid in turn was bummed when some friend told Malaysian questioners that he had worked in the former Malaysian biological weapons program. Yazid says he refused to cooperate with his Malaysian questioners because he felt betrayed by his country — but truth be told, he felt betrayed by KSM.
PETER JENNINGS (CONTINUED)
(Off Camera) …. Pierre, the FBI put out a be on the look out order for a man
named Adnan El Shukrijumah. El Shukrijumah. I think I pronounced it correctly.
We don’t know an awful lot about him, except that he carries a variety of
passports. Can you bring us up to date on why they are interested in him?
PIERRE THOMAS, ABC NEWS
(Off Camera) Peter, they’re extremely concerned because they think he was a
pilot, they also think that he, that he trained in Afghanistan. And he’s
associated, according to the FBI, with two men that they have been concerned
about for a long time, Ramsey Bin Al Sheeb and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. Two key
planners in the 9/11 attacks.
PETER JENNINGS
(Off Camera) And I understand that he, he may be Guyanese, he may have been born
in Guyana, but carries among others a Saudi Arabian passport and even possibly a
Canadian passport?
PIERRE THOMAS
(Off Camera) Peter, this man is thought to carry a variety of passports as you
say. They think that he used to live in south Florida near where some of the
9/11 hijackers lived, but right now they simply have no idea where he is.
PETER JENNINGS
(Voice Over) And, and do you know how they arrived at the connection between him
and Mohammed Atta?
PIERRE THOMAS
(Off Camera) Well, I’m told that they developed some overseas intelligence, but
also that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed identified him as a field commander in
al-Qaeda.
DXer said
The DOJ/FBI tried to keep El-Shukrijumah’s participation in the NYC bombing plot low-key while they tried to catch him.
July 1, 2010 Thursday
US officials link al-Qaeda figure Shukrijumah to NY subway bomb plot
BYLINE: ANI
LENGTH: 97 words
Washington, July 1 (ANI): US officials have indicated that Adnan Shukrijumah, a
top al-Qaeda figure, helped plot last year’s attempted bombing of the New York
subway system.
According to the Fox News, the Justice Department has named him in a draft
indictment saying that Shukrijumah met with one of the would-be suicide bombers,
but not yet filed it, fearing that the extra attention would hinder efforts to
capture him.
“Shukrijumah is among the top candidates to be Al Qaeda’s next head of external
operations, the man in charge of planning attacks worldwide,” the report stated.
(ANI)
______________
This is the law:
The purpose of fighting is to win.
There is no possible victory in defense.
The sword is more important than the shield and skill is more important than
either.
The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental.
– John Steinbeck
http://www.amerithrax.wordpress.com
DXer said
In today’s websites is mention of a phony website set up by the FBI.
Tounisi, 18, was arrested at Chicago O’Hare airport on April 19. According to the Chicago Tribune:
“Prosecutors allege that Tounisi posted messages on a phony website set up by the FBI agreeing to travel to Syria to fight with the Al-Nusra Front militant group. According to authorities, Tounisi has links to a second Chicago-area terrorism suspect, Adel Daoud, who was arrested in September after he tried to set off what he thought was a bomb outside a downtown bar. The two were close friends and plotted the bomb attack together, prosecutors allege, but Tounisi backed out when he suspected law enforcement was on to them.”
The FBI and CIA are far cleverer, creative and skilled than their second-guessing critics give them credit. They just often are not in a position to publicly take credit. Moreover, they often find themselves making arguments they privately recognize very likely are untrue — such as the FBI agent testifying in the hearing against Curtis in the ricin case that first day.
These are the graphics done summarizing my analysis in Amerithrax.
http://www.amerithrax.wordpress.com
Yazid Sufaat was a member of a secret (long since abandoned) Malaysian biological weapons program.
A half dozen or affidavits were provided his defense counsel this past week.
His court hearing is scheduled for Monday.
It’s time to follow the evidence — leaving your decades-long preconceptions about Amerithrax behind.
You need to understand the importance of focusing on the virulent strain that Yazid Sufaat confirms he was using.
Yazid told KSM that he and his assistants were vaccinated against anthrax. They were vaccinated against anthrax because they were using a virulent strain.
DXer said
The FBI has taken down the fake website. It was just weeks ago that the young man found it.
http://web.archive.org/web/*/nusrat-syria.com
The FBI knows what you are looking for (if paying attention to you) and it is a simple matter for them to arrange for you to find it next time you look. Even if they have to post it. (It does not require spyware — what you search for and your web history has been available from the major telecommunications carriers by subpoena even absent probable cause).
So, for example, if you are a made member of the mafia with a stolen $200 million painting and you google about it — the FBI has the IP address you used in accessing the site.
Personally, given how many armed robberies go unsolved, I prefer prioritizing old school methods. Last week, quick-thinking officers ran down a young man with a fake pipe bomb robbing a bank behind the trees in my backyard. We need more aggressive sharing of photos of armed robbers using social media websites — and not just in the local area, but 100-200 miles away. So I think a priority should be better cameras with analytical capabilities (zoom, high resolution, motion detection etc.) The money saved from fewer ill-conceived undercover operations and payments to criminals could go to federal grants to local communities for better cameras.
But returning to snaring these angry young men and other supporters of jihadists, everything you ever searched to reach this website (or any website) has been trackable by the FBI, going back years.
It is all in your file (if they care to keep one).
But if you were an Eagle Boy Scout, click on this and stop being so lazy in your research about Al Qaeda’s anthrax planning:
http://www.amerithrax.wordpress.com
Finally, I think it is foolish to use cryptography, whether email, video or chat. Why have secrets at all? Nothing is foolproof and so it is foolhardy to trust that NSA is not one algorithm ahead of you.
DXer said
Here is a message from Rep. Rush Holt that he titles “Anthrax, Now Ricin.” Rep. Holt served as Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence from its start in 2007 until it was disbanded in 2010. The Panel was charged with strengthening oversight of the intelligence community by ensuring that policymakers receive accurate assessments, civil liberties are safeguarded, and the intelligence community is protecting Americans at home and abroad.
“Anthrax, Now Ricin”
http://holt.congressnewsletter.net/common/mailings/index.cfm?id=97
Dear Friend,
You no doubt remember the atmosphere of fear and even panic in mid-September 2001 as 22 people contracted anthrax from letters mailed to news outlets and to Congress. People died then – two postal employees and three other innocent citizens. Those troubling days returned to my mind last week when we learned that the deadly poison ricin had been found in letters mailed to the Senate and to President Obama. Fortunately, no one has died this time.
The manner in which these letters were discovered shows that our nation has, at least, learned one lesson from the anthrax attacks: Both letters were opened and tested in off-site mail facilities set up after the anthrax attacks. Yet I am troubled that other lessons remain unlearned.
How could the FBI have responded more appropriately in the immediate aftermath of the anthrax attacks? Did the FBI truly build a sound scientific and criminal case against Bruce Ivins, the suspect held responsible for the attacks? Is the government’s current response to the ricin attacks repeating errors of the past?
I have previously offered legislation that would create a special commission, modeled after the 9/11 Commission, to investigate the anthrax attacks and determine what lessons we can learn still. As last week’s poisoned mailings demonstrate, the need for answers remains. …
Congressman Holt beat IBM’s computer “Watson” at Jeopardy.
MARCH 7, 2011
Watson vs. Humans: Score One for Congress
By STEVE LOHR
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/07/watson-vs-humans-score-one-for-congress/
I.B.M.’s Watson may have pummeled Jeopardy! champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter last month, but last week, a New Jersey Congressman beat the question-and-answer supercomputer.
To be sure, it was no ordinary politician. Representative Rush D. Holt Jr., a New Jersey Democrat, is a physicist who spent the nine years before he won his first congressional race in 1998 as the assistant director of the plasma physics laboratory at Princeton University.
Back in the 1970s, Mr. Holt recalled in an interview last Thursday, he tried his hand at Jeopardy!, and came away a five-time winner. He said he participated in the event in Washington, organized by I.B.M., to underscore the importance of government research funding and science education — and for the sheer cerebral sport of taking on Watson.
DXer said
FBI Criticized For Failing To ‘Connect Dots’ In Boston Case
by TOM GJELTEN
April 26, 2013 3:00 PM
http://www.npr.org/2013/04/26/179297741/fbi-criticized-for-failing-to-connect-dots-in-boston-case
Comment: The FBI is damned if they do and damned if they don’t. Hindsight is 20/20. The FBI only have to be wrong once. There is no indication critics could do better. We all need to pull our oars in the same direction. The “integrity” in the FBI’s motto relates partly to reassessing the evidence based on new information without regard to CYA considerations. Let’s not give FBI officials reason to be defensive and engage in CYA.
DXer said
Letter sent to Obama tests positive for ricin, officials say
DXer said
USA Today in describing the earlier letter to Senator Wicker notes:
“The envelope, which was intercepted at an off-site Capitol mail facility, was found to contain a “white granular substance” and was quarantined …”
DC said
Has someone asked Krzysztof Wasik about the 2003 ricin mailings?
WASHINTON, D.C. — Police believe a man from Luzerne County is responsible for a bomb threat that shut down traffic around The White House Wednesday morning.
Police in the nation’s capital say a man walked up to the White House gates around 5 a.m. Wednesday and told a Secret Service agent a bomb was about to go off in a truck parked nearby.
Investigators say it was a hoax, and arrested the man.
Krzysztof Wasik, 44, of Hazle Township is the man who made the threat at the White House, according to police.
According to the Washington Post newspaper, Wasik is now in police custody and faces criminal charges.
The threats prompted an investigation by the Secret Service and D.C. police, when a Secret Service agent said the man from Hazle Township said the truck was, “set to blow up.”
Police closed several streets near the White House for two hours.
Police located the truck and determined the threat was false and the streets were re-opened.
Wasik was taken into custody, and according to several news reports is expected to be charged with making false threats though no court appearance has been scheduled so far.
DXer said
Here is what I posted last week on ricin and the White House last week. I called the 800 tip line and suggested that they compare WK’s handwriting to the handwriting of the “Fallen Angel.”
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 2:59 pm
According to the woman who recently separated from him, Mr. Wasik is a nice guy and is not anti-government. He however has mental issues, is into the bible and religion and may be off his medication. At his home or business, are there any instructions on making ricin?
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 3:01 pm
The dba is Gromnik is based on grom. A picturesque village in southern Poland, “grom” means “thunderbolts” and also refers to Polish special forces.
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 3:07 pm
Mr. Wisak started Gromnik in 2003. He may have found the regulations, if they applied to him, upsetting after investment in his rig. Does he ever use the construct “Fallen Angel” in his religious discussions?
2007 update – Ricin Letters Still A Mystery.
.
Despite the ongoing mystery into why someone sent two ominous letters with the deadly poison ricin to Capitol Hill, the Russell Senate Office Building was to reopen Thursday. The Hart building was scheduled to open Friday, and Dirksen on Monday.
CBS News Correspondent Bob Orr reports Marines in haz-mat suits were methodically scouring Capitol Hill buildings, collecting unopened mail and sorting through trash, in a wide-ranging search for clues.
However, investigators say they have found nothing to explain how the potentially deadly powder wound up in the offices of the Senate Majority Leader.
“There has been no smoking letter information that helps tie this thing together,” said Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer.
The investigation is focusing on a mysterious “Fallen Angel” who threatens to use ricin as a weapon unless new trucking regulations are rolled back.
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 who made those earlier threats sent ricin-laced mail to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.
The typewritten letters, addressed to the White House and Transportation Department and signed by “Fallen Angel,” warned that more ricin would be used unless some trucking regulations that went into effect Jan. 4 were scrapped.
Hazardous materials teams from the FBI and Capitol police continued the search Wednesday night for a letter or parcel that might have carried the ricin powder found Monday in a mail-sorting room in Frist’s personal office suite. No such parcel was immediately found.
Gainer said investigators have found “no obvious direct connection” between the Frist case and the letters signed by “Fallen Angel.” Those letters were discovered in mail facilities that serve the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in South Carolina and the White House.
They were found Oct. 15 and Nov. 6, respectively, but the existence of the White House letter was not disclosed by the Bush administration until Tuesday.
The letters, described as nearly identical, claimed that the author owned a tanker truck fleet company and demanded that rules governing the numbers of hours truckers can drive remain unchanged, according to the FBI.
The FBI said the South Carolina letter was in an envelope with a typewritten warning “Caution RICIN POISON.” The letter included claims that the author could make much more ricin and would “start dumping” if the new regulations weren’t abolished. There was no delivery address and no postmark.
No one has fallen ill in any of the incidents.
There is no known antidote for ricin, a strong toxin which is relatively easy to make from castor beans. 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.
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 bulletins to its members urging them to be aware of 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 worried about lost pay and productivity because of stricter rest requirements.
“It was controversial,” Russell said.
While the South Carolina letter’s existence was made public shortly after it was found, the Bush administration delayed acknowledgment of the White House letter by nearly three months. It was intercepted Nov. 6 by the Secret Service at an offsite mail facility.
Secret Service spokeswoman Ann Roman said the FBI and other agencies were notified after the letter tested probable for ricin on Nov. 12. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Homeland Security officials held a Nov. 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.
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 3:10 pm
You can compare Mr. Wisak’s handwriting to this handwriting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nov_6,_2003_ricin_letter_-_envelope.jpg
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 3:14 pm
He transported foodstuffs. Did the foodstuff items he transported include castor pulp or did he otherwise have easy access at the food company whose goods he shipped?
A letter stated:
“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, January 4, 2004 starts the new hours of service for trucks which include a ridiculous ten hours in the sleeper berth. Keep at eight or I will start dumping.You have been warned this is the only letter that will be sent by me.
Fallen Angel[“
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 3:21 pm
SAFER Layout
Entity Type: Carrier
Operating Status: AUTHORIZED FOR Property
Legal Name: KRZYSZTOF WASIK
DBA Name: GROMNIK
Physical Address: 370 GOSHEN AVE
HAZLE TOWNSHIP, PA 18202
Phone: (570) 455-2892
Mailing Address: 370 GOSHEN AVE
HAZLE TOWNSHIP, PA 18202
USDOT Number: 1467318 State Carrier ID Number:
MC/MX/FF Number(s): MC-554269
DUNS Number: —
Power Units: 1 Drivers: 1
MCS-150 Form Date: 08/06/2011 MCS-150 Mileage (Year): 125,000 (2010)
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 3:32 pm
There used to be a tattoo parlor 30 miles from Hazle Township in Pottsville. Did Mr. Wisak get his tattoo there? Its advertisement would feature the Joker (from Batman).
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 3:38 pm
Fallen Angels is open today until 8 p.m.
https://www.facebook.com/fallenangelstattoospottsville
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 6:37 pm
There will be an article about Mr. Wasik in the Hazleton newspaper tomorrow morning.
FWIW, he had $5,000 in cargo insurance through United Financial Casualty Company that was effective 3/29/2013 with a termination date of 4/15/2013.*
http://li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov/LIVIEW/pkg_carrquery.prc_activeinsurance?pv_apcant_id=468599&pv_legal_name=KRZYSZTOF%5EWASIK&pv_pref_docket=MC554269&pv_usdot_no=1467318&pv_vpath=LIVIEW
If a carrier is in compliance, the amount of coverage will always be shown as the required Federal minimum ($5,000 per vehicle, $10,000 per occurrence for cargo insurance. The carrier may actually have higher levels of coverage.
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 6:44 pm
In the early years, in successive years, the listed agent support for his policy through Canal Insurance was in Greenville, South Carolina which is where the ricin was left.
Stupid question: When a trucker gets this insurance policy would he actually have travelled to Greenville, SC?
The information for the different insurance companies over the years and associated contact information is here.
http://li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov/LIVIEW/pkg_carrquery.prc_insurancehistory?pv_apcant_id=468599&pv_legal_name=KRZYSZTOF^WASIK&pv_pref_docket=MC554269&pv_usdot_no=1467318&pv_vpath=LIVIEW
Attn: AGENT SUPPORT
Address: P O BOX 7
GREENVILLE, SC US 29602
Telephone: (864) 527 – 6700
Fax: (864) 679 – 2557
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 6:55 pm
The ricin mailer who called himself “Fallen Angel” was in Greenville, SC in October 2003.
Then he was in Chattanooga, TN in November 2003, as indicated by a postmark of a letter with ricin sent to the White House.
Ewa or Teresa, did Mr. Wasik travel that route in Fall 2003?
Without knowing anything about trucking, I believe DOT and the insurance file would have ample documentation of states travelled.
Background:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=96785&page=1#.UWX6hs1cr5M
As federal investigators try to trace the origin of suspected ricin found Monday in the office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, ABCNEWS has learned of an earlier, undisclosed incident in which a ricin-laced letter was intercepted on its way to the White House.
In November, a letter postmarked Chattanooga, Tenn., and addressed to the White House was intercepted at an off-site mail sorting facility in the Washington area, sources told ABCNEWS.
The powdery substance in the letter tested positive for ricin. However, the tests indicated that the poison was in a low-potency, granular form that posed no health risk, the sources said.
According to two law enforcement sources, the intercepted letter addressed to the White House was signed “Fallen Angel.”
That sign-off was also used in a letter that was part of a package containing ricin that was left at a post office in Greenville, S.C., in October 2003.
That letter complained about new federal trucking regulations requiring more rest for drivers. The letter described the author as “a fleet owner of a tanker company” and contained this threat: “If my demand is dismissed I’m capable of making Ricin … I will start dumping.”
The Greenville package contained a small metal vial packed with ricin. The FBI has offered a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to an arrest in the incident. No illnesses were reported in the Greenville case and an FBI spokesman in Columbia, S.C., said the sender’s motivation may not have been to kill.
“When you use a poison like ricin you obviously have to be concerned that it could kill, but if you look at the language in the letter, it seems that this individual was more concerned with seeking a repeal of the new legislation,” said the spokesman, Tom O’Neal.
Late on Monday, authorities discovered a suspicious powder in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
A number of tests have identified the substance as ricin, a potentially deadly poison derived from castor beans, although final confirmation is still under way. Government health officials hope to have those results Wednesday.
Federal investigators are trying to establish whether the Senate incident is connected to the two earlier packages.
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 7:14 pm
You ask:
What was the motivation of the fellow threatening a bomb? Well, he was mad about regulations on semi-trailers.
What was the motivation of the truck company owner threatening ricin? Well, he was mad about regulations on semi-trailers.
(You can be pretty sure that the FBI profiler pictured an independent trucker and not the owner of a fleet of trucks).
The FBI needs to search his residence and business for instructions on making ricin and also consider his location in October and November 2003.
As with the anthrax mailers, sometimes if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it’s a duck.
http://www.amerithrax.wordpress.com
Form 34 filed at DOT in 2003 may be illuminating to include the date and location it was signed.
But most illuminating would be a sample of Mr. Wasik’s handwriting.
http://li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov/reports/rwservlet?hidden_run_parameters=lirpt&report=%2Fu01%2Foracle%2Flirpts%2Fli_carrier.rdf&p_apcant=468599&p_user=WEBLIVIEW
Man angry about regulations threatens to bomb White House
April 10, 2013
By TheCountyPressEditor
By Julian Hattem – 04/10/13 03:43 PM ET
A man arrested on Wednesday morning for making bomb threats near the White House was angry about regulations, according to published reports.
Around 5 a.m. Wednesday, Krzysztof Wasik, 44, approached a guard office near the White House and claimed to have a bomb in a nearby truck, according to reports.
The Secret Service and police closed down nearby streets for two hours, investigated the truck and found no cause for concern. Police arrested Wasik on charges of making felony threats.
According to the Washington City Paper, the bomb threat was a way for the man to complain about regulations on semitrailer trucks.
“He was upset about the rules and regulations concerning semi-trucks and was angry about fines that he had to pay,” wrote a Secret Service officer in an affidavit, according to the City PaperThe newspaper reports Wasik hoped the threat would allow him to speak with President Obama.
Wasik reportedly made two attempts to speak with the president. On his first try, moments previous, Secret Service told the man to send his complaint to the relevant government agency. He returned shortly afterwards and threatened to explode a bomb.
“I know what it takes to get things done around here,” he reportedly told the Secret Service agent. “I have a bomb in my truck parked 500 feet from here.”
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 7:19 pm
Without knowing DOT regulations, did Mr. Wasik get fined for violating the 10 hour rule that was the subject of the ricin mailer’s anger?
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 7:38 pm
Truck Driver Arrested For D.C. Threats
Posted on: 5:55 pm, April 10, 2013, by Bill Wadell
http://wnep.com/2013/04/10/truck-driver-arrested-for-d-c-threats/
WASHINGTON, D.C. —
***
A woman who answered the front door said she is married to Wasik and claims they recently separated. She believes he likely stopped taking medications for a mental illness.
“Yesterday, actually he looked a lot worse. I never actually saw him like that, in that kind of a mood. Usually he`s quiet. Yesterday he was actually walking around grabbing things for no reason, papers, napkins,” said Adam Swieciaszek of Scranton
Swieciaszek works with Wasik as a contractor for Kane Trucking in Scranton. He says he and Wasik were both assigned to the same route for a delivery to Virginia Tuesday night but Wasik refused to follow him.
Swieciaszek didn’t hear about the bomb threat until another trucker for Kane told him to turn on the TV this morning.
“I actually thought the truck broke down. He`s at work every day, he works really hard, he`s actually a really nice guy if you get to know him. So, very surprised.”
Neighbors who say they’ve known Wasik for years in the Chapel Hill Estates development say he’s a religious man and a good father of two teenagers.
“Nothing out of the ordinary at all. No warning at all,” said Leonna Seginak of Hazle Township.
A federal criminal complaint says Wasik was upset over trucking regulations and told an agent he had explosives in the cab of his truck. According to the Secret Service, wasik said, “don`t touch the keys in the ignition or else something bad will happen. I don`t care if children or veterans are harmed by the bomb. I only care about speaking to the President.”
No explosives were found in the tractor trailer cab and no one was hurt during the scare.
Comment: Did he just recently get notice of a DOT fine for violating the 10 hour rule? Abby at NCIS should test the key for ricin.
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 7:45 pm
http://wnep.com/2013/04/10/man-accused-of-dc-bomb-threat-left-from-lackawanna-county-according-to-co-worker/
Krzysztof Wasik and Adam Swieciaszek are both natives of Poland, and both are contractors for Kane Trucking in Lackawanna County.
Both drive loads of wine to Virginia a few times a week. And that’s where they were headed Tuesday night. Adam asked Wasik to ride together.
“He seemed really tipsy, he said ‘no’ kind of in a rude way. And he said ‘No, I’m leaving at midnight,’” Swieciaszek said.
..
Then, Adam thought about the way Wasik was acting before they headed out on the road. He seemed irritable, dazed, and distracted. …
Wasik just wasn’t himself. And even more boggling, Adam says, is that Wasik never talked politics.
But a federal criminal complaint says Wasik was upset over trucking regulations and that’s why he wanted to talk to the President.
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 7:50 pm
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2013/04/10/secret-service-white-house-threatener-was-angry-about-regulations/
The first time he complained about regulations to a Secret Service officer by the White House fence, Wasik agreed to send his concerns about regulations to another government agency instead, according to the statement.
Comment: That would be DOT. Recall that in addition to mailing to the White House, the ricin mailer wrote the DOT.
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 8:05 pm
By Kane Trucking I believe published reports mean Kane is Able, Inc. According to Wikipedia, Kane Is Able, Inc. has a network of 18 distribution center locations in multiple states employing more than 1200 associates. KANE possesses a tractor fleet of more than 200 power units and is supported by 925 trailers. In addition to the business campus in Scranton, KANE has facilities in all U.S. major markets including Mechanicsburg, PA, Hagerstown, MD, Chicago, IL, Kansas City, KS, Atlanta, GA, and Southern California.
Did Mr. Wasik make runs to Kane’s Atlanta, GA warehouse in October/November 2003 period? Greenville, I think, is about half-way between Charlotte, NC and Atlanta GA.
Kane, I think is partly owned by the husband of the Penn. State Attorney General. Perhaps the company could expedite learning on the subject based on records from 2003, if he was contracting with them then.
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 8:15 pm
Ricin and the Robertus Laboratory webpage says that castor pulp is used in making envelopes.
The DOT form linked above, as I recall it, says that Mr. Wasik carries, in addition to food and beverage supplies, paper items.
Kane Trucking: Did Mr. Wasik have access to castor pulp used in making envelopes?
https://webspace.utexas.edu/robertus/ricin/interview.htm
… castor pulp, used in making the envelopes …
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 8:24 pm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/police-activity-blocks-mcpherson-square-area/2013/04/10/aa7e0f24-a1c3-11e2-be47-b44febada3a8_story.html
When asked by the courtroom clerk to swear to tell the truth, Wasik responded after a long pause, “I don’t know the truth.”
Sam Sanguedolce, first assistant district attorney in Luzerne County, Pa., said that Wasik has no criminal record in his jurisdiction.
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 8:40 pm
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/05/us/truckers-look-in-their-ranks-for-fallen-angel-writer.html
Truckers Look in Their Ranks For ‘Fallen Angel’ Writer
By ANDREW JACOBS
Published: February 05, 2004
The letter was brief and to the point.
”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 compound ricin. ”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 Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. A similar letter appeared in November at a mail-processing center that serves the White House. Both notes were signed ”Fallen Angel,” law enforcement officials said.
As investigators explore possible links between the parcels and the presence of ricin in a Senate mailroom, trucking executives and the drivers who haul the nation’s goods wondered whether one of their own might have used bioterrorism to publicize opposition to trucking rules that took effect last month. The regulations, which aim to reduce accidents by reducing how long drivers can stay on the road, have roiled the industry, which is already reeling from a recessionary drop in freight and higher fuel costs.
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 America.”
”It’s hard to imagine anyone could be this upset about these changes,” Mr. Todd said.
Among the road-rattled drivers who were filling their fuel tanks at a truck stop near here, passions ran high, especially among independents, drivers who own their rigs and who say the regulations lead to longer hours and less money.
”This guy must be a kook, but at least folks are going to listen to what he’s saying,” said Joe Thompson, who has been driving his 18-wheeler for 10 years. ”The feds are killing us with their bureaucracy.”
After the letter was found here, Daniel Somerson, an advocate for owner-operators whose homemade Web site criticizes the rules, said F.B.I. agents had interviewed him and his wife. A spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Columbia, Tom O’Neill, would not comment on the investigation but said agents were looking into the possibility that a disgruntled trucker was responsible for the parcels.
Federal transportation officials say the rules, which took effect on Jan. 4 and have a 60-day grace period, would save 75 lives and prevent 1,300 fatigue-related accidents a year by establishing a routine for truck drivers that they say more closely mirrors natural work and sleep rhythms.
Officials say the changes are the most far-reaching for the industry in 65 years, reducing daily driving time, to 10 hours from 11.
The most contentious change involves calculating workdays. Drivers can be on duty only for 14 hours a day, meaning that if a driver spends 6 hours awaiting goods at a factory, a delay that truckers say is not uncommon, the driver can stay on the road for just 8 more hours.
Time spent stopped for fueling, napping or eating is not counted as rest time. Some drivers say that keeps them behind the wheel for longer uninterrupted periods. In some cases, drivers say, the rules make them drive faster.
”We’ve got to get the same work done in less time, and that makes the job more stressful,” said Bob Williams, a ”tanker yanker,” a hauler of hazardous chemicals. ”Listen, we’re adults, and we know when it’s time to rest. If we didn’t, we’d be in a graveyard already.”
Coming on the tail of higher fuel costs and a three-year recession in the industry, trucking companies and owner-operators say the rules will lead to higher costs, which will ultimately be passed on to consumers.
***
Not everyone is displeased over the new rules, especially those that mandate a 10-hour break after every 14 hours. Fleet drivers who receive steady salaries or hourly wages are the biggest winners. But for owner-operators who are paid by the mile, less driving time means less money and more time away from home.
”These new regs are going to put us under,” said Rodney Snyder, a driver for 14 years. ”I’m thinking of getting out of the business.”
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 8:59 pm
Castor pulp is used in making envelopes, for example.
The cargo he shipped included “Paper Products”.
Do paperboard mills use castor pulp? Does Progressive Converting in Hazle Township?
He lived 6 miles away.
What about Freedom Corrugated? Did he truck their goods?
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 10:44 pm
http://about.usps.com/publications/pub166/pub166fm_024.htm
Castor beans are used to make castor oil and other beneficial products used for many purposes. In fact, castor oil is often used in the manufacture of paper, including paper used as envelopes.
Comment: What paper products did Mr. Wasik deliver? Did that company or companies use castor pulp? There is a $100,000 reward. Go find out.
DXer said
April 10, 2013 at 10:50 pm
http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/ricin-letter
A second letter, addressed to the White House and processed through a postal facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee on October 17, 2003, contained similar threatening language and was directed at the United States Department of Transportation. This second letter threatened to turn “D.C. into a ghost town” if these new “hours of service” regulations went into effect and was signed “Fallen Angel”. The author(s) of this letter claimed that the powder on the letter was ricin. The substance contained in the letter has been identified as containing ricin.
Attached to this release is a photograph of the exterior of the envelope processed by the postal facility in Chattanooga, TN on October 17, 2003, as well as, a photograph of the threat letter contained in that envelope. Additionally, attached is a copy of the reward flyer released on January 7, 2004.
Comment: Upload the exemplars you have of Mr. Wasik’s printing.
Absent the $2.5 million reward, the reward in Amerithrax is up to $5 million under the Rewards For Justice program
http://www.amerithrax.wordpress.com
DXer said
April 11, 2013 at 4:55 am
http://psdispatch.com/news/local-news/423488/Mans-wife-describes-mental-issues
By EDWARD LEWIS
By SHEENA DELAZIO
Krzystof Wasik, Hazle Township, arrested Wednesday after bomb threat outside White House.
April 10. 2013 11:18PM
•
***
HAZLE TWP. — Visibly shaking and crying, Teresa Wasik said she was awakened early Wednesday morning by the U.S. Secret Service calling to inform her that her husband, Krzystof Wasik, was arrested after he allegedly made a bomb threat outside the White House. …
Later Wednesday, Teresa Wasik filed a protection-from-abuse petition in Luzerne County Court for herself and their 16-year-old daughter, describing a downward spiral that began when her husband stopped taking medication for mental illnesses.
***
Teresa Wasik said she spoke with her husband on Tuesday and he seemed fine. He said he was going to Virginia for work. That evening, she was unable to get in touch with him. Wednesday morning, the Secret Service called Teresa Wasik and notified her of the incident at the White House.
Teresa Wasik previously filed a PFA against her husband. In her court petition, she said she was working at the Walmart in Pittston Township on Monday evening when she was told she had a visitor.
“It was my husband waiting for me. He said that he has our daughter in his truck and she was sick and needed to see me immediately,” she wrote in the petition. When she got to the truck, their daughter wasn’t there. That’s when, she said, her husband grabbed her and tried to push her into the truck, according to the petition.
“I wrestled to break free of his grasp,” she wrote.
Teresa Wasik said she asked her husband what he was doing, and he replied that he wanted to take her away for a few days to show her “we can … live without food.”
“I need to mention at this point that he was going through mental problems … (for) some time he is not taking his medications. He refuses to do so,” she wrote.
She then described calling the police and she was advised to change the locks of their home and file for a PFA. The PFA states Wasik drives a 2010 Dodge Caravan and had moved out of the couple’s home and was living out of the vehicle.
A hearing has been scheduled for April 18 at the Luzerne County Courthouse for a judge to consider the PFA. A temporary PFA has been put in place.
“He’s a great guy,” a sobbing Teresa Wasik told a reporter earlier Wednesday from inside the couple’s home on Goshen Avenue. “He just needs help.
“He is very well-liked by everybody. He just has issues when he stops taking his medication,” she said. “He is into the Bible and God. He’s a good citizen.”
Teresa Wasik said her husband has no anti-government tendencies and did not know why he was in Washington, D.C., which is about a four-hour drive from their home. She said they separated about two weeks ago but had stayed in touch.
***
“My only thought is he did not take his medication,” Seginak said. ‘“I have nothing but good to say about their family. They have a wonderful family.”
Teresa Wasik said her home was not searched by authorities.
***
A check for court records only returned a traffic citation filed against Wasik by the Frackville Police Department in November 2011. He pleaded guilty to the citation and paid a $110 fine.
DXer said
April 11, 2013 at 5:05 am
The Hazleton newspaper, The Standard Speaker, today states in part:
“Thomas Kopeskie of the Greater Hazleton Polonaise Society said the Wasiks attended Masses conducted in Polish at Stanislaus R.C. Church before the church closed.
Last year, the Wasik’s son won a scholarship given in honor of the late Rev. Louis Garbacik, a former priest at St. Stanislaus.
Scholarship winners wrote essays about why they were proud of their Polish heritage, and a news article about the scholarship said the Wasik’s son was the first generation of the family born in America.
“He wasn’t one that was known in the neighborhood,” she said.
Seven other residents of Goshen Avenue and Appian Way, a connecting street, said they didn’t know Wasik.
…
Kingston Attorney John Pike said he hadn’t heard from Wasik since representing him for a reckless driving charge in 1997. The charge was dropped when prosecutors failed to attend the hearing.
Wasik also paid a fine for failing to obey a traffic signal in Frackville two years ago.
Marguerite Benderavich remembers Wasik stopping by her office in Hazle Township to pay his garbage bill.
“He’s a nice person,” she said.
DXer said
April 11, 2013 at 6:00 am
The logbook requiring record-keeping of time spent, to include in the sleeper berth.
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/topics/hos/hos-logbook-examples.htm
There are four lines on a DOT log book:
• Off Duty
• Sleeper Berth
• Driving
• On Duty (Not Driving)
If you are living out of your truck, upon being separated from your wife, what entry gets made in the logbook required by DOT?
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/topics/hos/hos-logbook-examples.htm#_Toc201555007
http://www.truck-drivers-money-saving-tips.com/falsifying.html
DXer said
April 11, 2013 at 7:17 am
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1697&dat=20040205&id=jikqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=REgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6861,576155
“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 bulletins to its members urging them to be aware of 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 worried about lost pay and productivity because of stricter test requirements.”
Comment: The 53,000 comments are public record. Did Mr. Wasik dba Gromnik, formed in 2003, submit a comment?
DXer said
April 11, 2013 at 7:26 am
White House Bomb Threat – City Desk
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/…/secret-service-white-house-threate…
17 hours ago – A new affidavit from a Secret Service agent reveals the motivations of the … the rules and regulations concerning semi- trucks and was angry about fines
Background:
Revisiting Hours of Service History, Part 4: The History since April 2003
by DAVID K SCHNEIDER on APRIL 2, 2013
http://wearethepractitioners.com/2013/04/02/revisiting-hours-of-service-history-part-4-the-history-since-april-2003/
DXer said
April 11, 2013 at 7:36 am
His log book was in his cab and was taken by authorities. Thus there is an entire notebook of pages of handwriting to compare to the writing of the ricin mailer on the envelope.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Nov_6%2C_2003_ricin_letter_-_envelope.jpg
DXer said
April 11, 2013 at 8:07 am
In United States of America v. Krzysztof Wasik, the COMPLAINT in Violation of: 18:844(e) states in part:
STATEMENT OF FACTS IN SUPPORT OF A COMPLAINT
On April 10, 2013, at approximately 4:35 a.m., a man who was later identified as KRZYSZTOF WASIK (hereinafter referred to as “WASIK”) approached United States Secret Service (“USSS”) Officer Kara Klupacs at the north fence line of the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. in Washington, D.C. WASIK told Officer Klupacs that he wanted to speak to the “President.” WASIK stated that he was upset about the rules and regulations concerning semi- trucks and was angry about fines that he had to pay. Officer Klupacs advised WASIK that he would not be able to speak to the President of the United States, but that he could contact an agency that regulates traffic. WASIK indicated that he agreed with her and walked away.
At approximately 4:46 a.m., WASIK returned to the north fence line of the White House. At that time, WASIK stated to Officer Klupacs, “I know what it takes to get things done around here. I have a bomb in my truck parked 500 feet from here.” Officer Klupacs requested that WASIK provide the location of the truck, and for a description of the bomb. WASIK replied that he would not give any information about the bomb, or its location, until he spoke with the “President.” At that time, WASIK was arrested.
At 4:48 a.m., a semi-cab tractor bearing Pennsylvania plates was located at the corner of Vermont and H Streets, N.W., parked directly in front of the Veterans Affairs Building, which is located approximately one block away from the White House and 200 feet away from the entry barrier to the White House complex. When the USSS Officer found the vehicle, he observed that the keys were still in the ignition. The Officer broadcast that information over the radio. Upon over-hearing that radio broadcast while in custody, WASIK stated, “Don’t touch the keys in the ignition or else something bad will happen.” WASIK further stated, “I don’t care if children or veterans are harmed by the bomb. I only care about speaking to the President.”
***
Based on the foregoing, Your Affiant believes that there is probable cause to believe that on April 10, 2013, within the District of Columbia and elsewhere, KRZYSZTOF WASIK, in or affecting interstate commerce, willfully made a threat, and maliciously conveyed false information knowing the same to be false concerning an attempt or alleged attempt being made to injure any individual or destroy any building, vehicle or other real or personal property by means of an explosive, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 844(e).
KARA KLUPACS Officer, United States Secret Service
DXer said
April 11, 2013 at 8:24 am
At some point, the reward was increased to $120,000. Note in particular the vial that was used.
A reward payment will be made in accordance with the conditions of U.S. Postal Service Poster 296, Notice of Reward, dated June 2004.
https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/radDocs/wanted/reward.pdf
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, January 4 2004 starts the new hours of service for trucks which include a ridiculous ten hours in the sleeper berth. Keep at eight or I will start dumping.
You have been warned this is the only letter that will be sent by me.
Fallen Angel
DXer said
April 12, 2013 at 7:04 am
Wasik worked for Kane is Able referred to in media reports as Kane Trucking. (Coincidentally, based on reports during last year’s campaign, I believe it may be owned by the husband of the Pennsylvania state Attorney General).
Wikipedia explains that :
Cain and Abel were according to the Book of Genesis, two sons of Adam and Eve. … Cain was the first human born and the first murderer, and Abel was the first human to die. Cain committed the first murder by killing his brother. … A millennia-old explanation for Cain being capable of murder is that he may have been the offspring of a fallen angel or Satan himself, rather than being from Adam.[
DXer said
April 12, 2013 at 7:23 am
The ricin in Mr. Frist’s office was described by the FBI as “trace amounts mixed in with paper dust.”
Reward in ricin inquiry increased
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/dec/22/20041222-113121-9881r/#ixzz2QFc5AKr4
Many might argue that the ricin detected in Senator’s Frist’s mail — for which no letter was found — should not be considered given the possibility it was a false positive. (But see Michael Mason’s firm opinion otherwise).
But assuming for the sake of argument that it was from the same sender as the one left in Greenville and the one sent to the White House by “Fallen Angel,” then it is worth noting that trace amounts were mixed in with paper dust.
That paper dust is available for comparison to other paper dust at locations from which the castor pulp might have been obtained.
DXer said
April 12, 2013 at 7:43 am
Scientists who helped with Amerithrax on stable isotope ratios have also worked on determining the origin of the ricin.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23130759
J Forensic Sci. 2013 Jan;58 Suppl 1:S43-51. doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.12000. Epub 2012 Nov 6.
Forensic applications of light-element stable isotope ratios of Ricinus communis seeds and ricin preparations.
Kreuzer HW, West JB, Ehleringer JR.
Source
Department of Biology, University of Utah, 257 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. Helen.Kreuzer@pnnl.gov
Abstract
Seeds of the castor plant Ricinus communis are of forensic interest because they are the source of the poison ricin. We tested whether stable isotope ratios of castor seeds and ricin preparations can be used as a forensic signature. We collected over 300 castor seed samples worldwide and measured the C, N, O, and H isotope ratios of the whole seeds and oil. We prepared ricin by three different procedures, acetone extraction, salt precipitation, and affinity chromatography, and compared their isotope ratios to those of the source seeds. The N isotope ratios of the ricin samples and source seeds were virtually identical. Therefore, N isotope ratios can be used to correlate ricin prepared by any of these methods to source seeds. Further, stable isotope ratios distinguished >99% of crude and purified ricin protein samples in pairwise comparison tests. Stable isotope ratios therefore constitute a valuable forensic signature for ricin preparations.
DXer said
http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/opinionzone/2013/04/16/will-the-government-catch-whoever-is-behind-the-terrorist-attack-in-boston/
Will the government catch whoever is behind the terrorist attack in Boston?
by Opinion Staff
On Monday, President Barack Obama said of the explosions in Boston: “But make no mistake — we will get to the bottom of this. And we will find out who did this; we’ll find out why they did this. Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice.”
A Boston Marathon official assists Bill Iffrig, 78, of Lake Stevens, Wash., who was knocked down by the first blast on April 15, 2013. (AP Photo/MetroWest Daily News, Ken McGagh)
As South Florida knows, those behind a terrorist attack aren’t always caught.
In 2001, just three weeks after 9/11, there was an anthrax attack in Boca Raton. Robert Stevens, a photo editor at American Media, Inc., opened a letter that contained the toxin. He was diagnosed at JFK Medical Center in Lantana, and died. Panic hit Palm Beach County, where several of the 9/11 hijackers had lived. The Post reported that Mohamed Atta and others had rented planes at the airport in Belle Glade. Callers worried that the planes had been used to spread anthrax.
Fortunately, those rumors were false. But other anthrax attacks took place at the U.S. Senate, in New York City and in Connecticut. Four other people died from exposure to weaponized anthrax. And we still don’t know who did it. The FBI identified a government scientist, then cleared him. The FBI then identified a second scientist, who killed himself before he could be questioned. His suicide is compelling, but not evidence.
DXer said
By JEFF ZELENY and SUNLEN MILLER (@sunlenmiller)
April 16, 2013
A suspicious letter potentially laced with a poison, ricin, and postmarked from Memphis, was sent to the office of Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, ABC News has learned.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told ABC News that Capitol offices were on high alert. He referred questions to Capitol Police.
Comment:
Was this just a false positive? As I have discussed this week, castor pulp is also used to make papers, which prompted the suggestion by some that the 2004 letter to Senator Frist had just been a false positive. The letter sent to the White House was recovered and that definitely contained crude ricin, as did a vial left at Greenville, SC.
Republican Senator Receives Potentially Ricin-Poisoned Letter
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/republican-senator-receives-potentially-poisoned-letter/story?id=18972883#.UW3tQs1cr5M
DXer said
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/us/politics/toxic-ricin-detected-on-mail-sent-to-senator.html?_r=0
“But the official said ricin tests were often unreliable, so the authorities had the letter taken to the F.B.I.’s laboratories in Quantico, Va., for more analysis.”
Toxic Ricin Detected on Mail Sent to Senator
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT
Published: April 16, 2013
DXer said
Made from castor beans, the poison ricin causes far more scares than deaths
Published April 16, 2013
Associated Press
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/16/made-from-castor-beans-poison-ricin-causes-far-more-scares-than-deaths/#ixzz2Qg1WkQZK
Leitenberg said he was hard pressed to remember any case when an initial chemical test that showed the presence of ricin actually turned out to be ricin. Nearly every time it is a false alarm.
anonymous said
Not a false positive this time – CNN just reported that it tested positive when it got to the lab. Dont know know how pure the protein product is, however. It could be crud scraped off castor beans or it could be the highly purified crystals.
CNN also reported that, contrary to earlier reports, there is nobody in custody and no suspect.
DXer said
Castor pulp is used to make paper. Until Quantico at the FBI confirms the finding, suspend judgment. With Mr. Wasik, I noted that his DOT forms say he trucked paper supplies. There are paper manufacturers in Hazle Township. The Fallen Angel — the ricin mailer who sent ricin to the White House in 2003 out of anger over the semi-trailer regulations — said he had ready access to castor pulp. Did those companies use castor pulp? DId he have access? I would be especially alert as to mail received by transportation committee members.
DXer said
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/16/us/tainted-letter-intercepted/index.html?hpt=hp_c2
A laboratory in Maryland confirmed the presence of ricin after an initial field tests indicated the poison was present, Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terrance Gainer said.
Comment:
Let’s wait until we hear from the lab in Virginia.
DXer said
The number re ricin $120,000 reward I called a few days ago when I saw that the FBI was not searching Mr. Wasik’s business and residence in Hazle Township was the one listed on this flyer.
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/22783291/SPECIAL-REWARD
The call was referred to a voice mail. I didn’t catch the name and just left a long message. I noted, for example, that the logbook taken from Mr. Wasik’s cab could be compared to the handwritten envelope sent by the Fallen Angel. As for the typed letter, it was on blue lined school paper such as a student would use.
Both the Fallen Angel and Mr. Wasik were very angry about the regulations relating to semi-trailers. The Tennessee Senator is on the transportation committee.
DXer said
ricin matter –
The letter inside included an implied threat to effect of: “You haven’t listen to me before. Now you will, even if people have to die,” Politico also reported.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/04/17/envelope-containing-ricin-sent-to-sen-wicker-lawmakers-say/#ixzz2QhtXKWnG
United States v. Wasif matter –
Truck regulations spurred White House bomb threat
Fleet Owner-Apr 15, 2013
Wasik insisted that he wanted the bomb to go off, even after he was in custody. “I don’t care if children or veterans are harmed by the bomb,” …Mr. Wasik was irrationally insisting that he be heard by the President, that he speak to the President. His loving wife, who recently separated from him, says he is mentally ill. He has been living in his vehicle for the past two weeks. (Thus she likely would not be able to alibi him).
Comment: I believe where Mr. Wasik dropped the wine in Virginia is a long way from Memphis. But given that I think the states border and he is a truck driver used to driving long distances regularly, his whereabouts need to be established.
Given both the 2003 ricin mailer and Mr. Wasik were very angry at the White House and other lawmakers over the semi-trailer regulations (relating to how long truckers could drive (be in the sleeper cab), there is probable cause to search his business and home and Hazle Township (and of course he threatened the President with a bomb which serves to establish probable cause for a search. The 2003 ricin mailer said he had ready access to castor pulp and there are a number of paper manufacturers in Hazle Township area. Mr. Wasik, according to DOT records, delivered paper supplies. He didn’t get his liquor license until 2006. Castor pulp is used to make paper.
In particular, they should look for matches ot the blue lined school paper used by “Fallen Angel” in the old school and church scholarship essays that were savedFor example. the church saved an essay his son wrote. But the 2003 mailer’s handprinting could be compared to the logbook that DC Police, Secret Service and/or FBI took from his truck cab from where it was parked at Vermont and H in front of the Veteran’s office building. The reporter who might know the most about the Wasik matter is Ed Lewis (elewis) at the paper Times-Leader perhaps. He was the first to interview Mrs. Wasik who is commended, at a time of great upset, to forthrightly address these issues. The government did not oppose his federal defender’s request for a competency evaluation.
DXer said
Note that a day or two he was at the White House, Mr. Wasik attempted to kidnap his estranged wife from the Walmart she worked. He told her daughter was in the truck ill. She came out. He tried to force her in the cab and said that they could see what it was like to go without food for a couple of days. She broke free. She then sought a restraining order in state court.
DXer said
errata – I mean the Mississippi Senator (Wicker) is on the transportation committee. He has not sponsored trucking regulation that would anger the Fallen Angel of late that I’ve seen.
In the case of Mr. Wasik, he was angry over fines he had received. He has had a couple minor traffic tickets in PA over the last couple decades. The two local PA papers concentrated on those fines — but it is his DOT fine history that should be checked. (I think his last traffic ticket was the inconsequential failure to comply with a traffic device).
The fines for violating the rules relating to how long you can spend in your truck — which I posted on in detail last week — are very substantial. If he was living in his truck in addition to his 2010 Chevy Impala (I think) that immediately would totally mess up his compliance with the DOT regulations. To the nice Secret Service Agent Kara, he was complaining about the regulations governing semi-trailers.
He is an independent operator having started his company in 2003. Kane is Able, Inc. has a facility in Atlanta — as well as warehouses around the country. Memphis, though, is pretty far west — not en route from Atlanta.
His company dba is Gromnik. Grom means thunderbolts in Polish. Gromnik is a place in Southern Poland. He came from Poland. Grom also refers to a special forces unit there. His friend who often also delivers wine to VA along with Mr. Wasik says that Mr. Wasik is neither political nor anti-government. He was in a very upset mood though the day before he showed up at the White House saying he didn’t care if the bomb detonated — all he wanted was to speak to the President. He went to church at St. Francis whose late pastor focused on preserving Polish culture.
DXer said
Wall Street Journal article, which in the body notes that field testing produced inconsistent results, in a correction and amplication says that it was sent to a lab for conclusive testing. It says its report it was sent to an FBI lab was mistaken. So Anonymous, my emphasis that we wait to hear of the results from Quantico (the FBI lab) may be misguided. You may be correct that the “conclusive testing” has already resulted from testing at a lab in Maryland. Without knowing the science, you could always see if a mouse dies.
Corrections & Amplifications
The letter sent to Sen. Roger Wicker (R., Miss.) that tested positive for ricin was later sent to a lab for conclusive testing. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said it was sent to an FBI lab.
DXer said
Ricin Found in Envelope Addressed to Senator at US Capitol Mail …
The Hollywood Gossip-2 minutes ago
A Maryland lab confirmed the presence of ricin after initial field tests indicated the poison was present, according to Senate Sergeant-at-Arms …
The FBI cautioned that more comprehensive testing is still necessary.
“Only a full analysis performed at an accredited laboratory can determine the presence of a biological agent such as ricin,” according to the bureau.
“Those tests are being conducted and generally take from 24-48 hours.”
In a statement Tuesday, the U.S. Capitol Police said more tests would be conducted at the Army’s biomedical research laboratory at Fort Detrick, Maryland.
- See more at: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/ricin-found-in-envelope-at-us-capitol-mail-facility/#sthash.se2lZa8M.dpuf
DXer said
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/editorials/poisonous_powder_qeGrdI6cPyzTjW3H49saAL
Poisonous powder
• Last Updated: 12:08 AM, April 17, 2013
• Posted: April 17, 2013
We’re probably not the only ones getting that déjà vu feeling.
For many New Yorkers, the images of innocent Americans bloodied by two bombs at the Boston Marathon evoked unpleasant memories of 9/11. That it was followed by yesterday’s late-breaking news that an envelope that tested positive for ricin had been addressed to a United States senator will only add to the unease.
If we have a special sympathy for what those in the Senate are now going through, it’s because we’ve been there ourselves. An anthrax-laced letter postmarked Sept. 18, 2001, was mailed to this newspaper some 12 years ago. Ultimately, three Post employees would show signs of poisoning.
The office of Roger Wicker
Our people lived, though others who received such envelopes were not as lucky. After a tortuous, seven-year investigation, the FBI concluded that the envelopes were sent by a disturbed scientist at a US Army research facility, who committed suicide after being told he would be prosecuted.
Not everyone was satisfied with that. Cut to today, as investigators are now dealing with a more deadly poison with no antidote that was mailed to the Capitol Hill office of Mississippi Republican Roger Wicker.
We will not go beyond the facts. We don’t yet know who planted those bombs in Boston or who sent the ricin to Sen. Wicker. What we do know is that America has enemies determined to harm the innocent. What matters is not whether they are foreign or domestic but that we give those whose job it is to defend America the tools they need to do so.
Anonymous said
New letter to Obama this time.
Washington (CNN) — [Breaking news update at 11:15 a.m. Wednesday: A letter addressed to President Barack Obama that contained a "suspicious substance" has been intercepted at the White House's off-site mail facility, a Secret Service spokesman said Wednesday. The letter arrived Tuesday, the same day as an envelope addressed to a U.S. senator that initially tested positive for the deadly poison ricin.]
Further testing took place Wednesday on an envelope addressed to a U.S. senator’s office that initially tested positive for the deadly poison ricin, the FBI said.
The envelope was intercepted Tuesday at the U.S. Capitol’s off-site mail facility in Washington, congressional and law enforcement sources tell CNN.
Coming on the day after the Boston Marathon bombings, the envelope further heightened security concerns at a time when Congress is considering politically volatile legislation to tough gun laws and reform the immigration system.
“Monday’s attack in Boston reminded us that terrorism can still strike anywhere at any time,” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday. “And as yesterday’s news of an attempt to send ricin to the Capitol reminds us, it is as important as ever to take the steps necessary to protect Americans from those who would do us harm.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he was told the envelope was addressed to the office of Sen. Roger Wicker, a conservative Republican from Mississippi.
A laboratory in Maryland confirmed the presence of ricin after initial field tests also indicated the poison was present, according to Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terrance Gainer.
However, the FBI said additional testing was needed because field and preliminary tests produce inconsistent results.
DXer said
Authorities have intercepted a letter addressed to President Obama that contained a “suspicious substance,” a Secret Service spokesman said, after lawmakers said another letter — thought to contain ricin — was sent to the Capitol Hill office of Sen. Roger Wicker.
Both letters were apparently intercepted on Tuesday. They never reached the Hill or the White House.
An FBI bulletin obtained by Fox News said the letter sent to Obama is still being screened.
The bulletin said both letters included the phrase: “To see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance.”
Both were signed, “I am KC and I approve this message.”
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/04/17/envelope-containing-ricin-sent-to-sen-wicker-lawmakers-say/#ixzz2QjkRxV4Z
DXer said
The mailer is quoting a famous quote:
“To see a wrong and not to expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance.”
Dr. John Raymond Baker
DXer said
It’s worth noting that Inspire Magazine’s recipe for pressure-cooker bombs was promoted by the white supremacist website Stormfront.
Read more: http://ideas.time.com/2013/04/16/whos-behind-the-boston-bombings-some-initial-clues/#ixzz2Qfc7VNHn
DXer said
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323346304578425412446732622.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
April 15, 2013, 10:36 p.m. ET
Other Major Plots in the U.S.
Fall 2001: Mailings containing anthrax kill five people and sicken 17 others. U.S. authorities later conclude that government scientist Bruce Ivins, who committed suicide in 2008, was the culprit. Ivins’s defenders question the conclusion.
Comment: In an interview yesterday with Wolf Blitzer, Ari Fleischer compared the Boston marathon Patriots Day bombing to the Fall 2001 anthrax attacks.
DXer said
From the publisher on Edward Jay Epstein’s book on some famous unsolved crimes.
http://www.mhpbooks.com/books/the-annals-of-unsolved-crime/
“His method is simple: outline what is known and unknown, and show the plausible theories of the case. Where more than one theory exists, he shows the evidence for and against each. And when something remains to be proved, he says as much.”